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All Spain Bicorp Man of Bicorp Cave Painting
Gastro Obscura

Man of Bicorp Cave Painting

This ancient rock painting is the oldest evidence of humans’ love affair with honey.

Bicorp, Spain

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Mesolithic rock painting of a honey hunter harvesting honey and wax from a bees nest in a tree. (Dating around 8000 to 6000 BC)   Public Domain
Cuevas de la Araña, Bicorp.   Superchilum/CC BY-SA 4.0
Cuevas de la Araña, Bicorp.   Superchilum/CC BY-SA 4.0
Honeycomb.   Gastropod / Atlas Obscura User
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The taste of honey has entranced humans as long as we’ve walked upright—it is the second sweetest thing found in nature after dates. Until relatively recently, bees were the primary source of both sweetness, as honey, and light, in the form of beeswax candles. But before we domesticated them, getting hold of the sugary treat was a risky business.

Thousands of years ago, our prehistoric ancestors would teeter on rickety ladders to swipe honeycomb from wild bees nesting in cliff faces. In this Gastropod episode listen to author Gene Kritsky introduce us to the cave painting in the Cueves de la Arana (“Spider Caves”) in Bicorp, Spain that is the oldest evidence of humans’ love affair with honey.

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Food Caves Ancient Cave Paintings Ecosystems

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You can view the honey hunting rock painting in Cuevas de la Araña, or Spider Caves, in Bicorp, near Valencia, Spain. Schedule by appointment at info@ecomuseodebicorp.com.

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November 19, 2016

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  • https://gastropod.com/the-buzz-on-honey/
Man of Bicorp Cave Painting
5 Extramuros Diseminados
Bicorp
Spain
39.130479, -0.848452
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