Today on Documentify TV we are diving deep beneath the surface of Lake Huron to uncover an extraordinary 10,000-year-old underwater landscape that rivals Pompeii in archaeological significance.
Join us as we explore the mysterious Alpena-Amberley Ridge, an ancient land bridge that once connected Michigan and Ontario, where early Americans hunted caribou and built complex societies.
Discover unique stone tools, preserved hunting blinds, and evidence of vast trading networks stretching thousands of miles across North America - including obsidian from Central Oregon. From perfectly preserved peat bogs holding ancient DNA to boulder-lined pathways used for hunting, this underwater time capsule is revolutionizing our understanding of early human history in North America.
Don't miss this fascinating journey into a submerged world older than the pyramids, where every discovery challenges what we thought we knew about our ancestors.
Like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to join us on more incredible archaeological adventures - that's it for today's video folks, see you next time, right here on Documentify TV.
For much of the last century, historians believed that Egypt could lay claim to the oldest known jars of honey. This is not the case anymore, as more recent discoveries have found trace remnants of the bee's golden confection on ceramic vessels inside tombs in the nation of Georgia. While the 3,000-year-old jars of ancient honey from Egypt are nothing to buzz off, these newly unearthed remnants are 2,000 years older than the previous record holder.
ADVERTISEMENT
Araña cave paintings in Valencia, Spain display that humans have harvested honey in some fashion for at least the last 8,000 years, but these artifacts found in Georgia in 2003 are the furthest back in time we have found physical evidence of the honey itself. Proof of how and where the honey was stored has further enlightened scholars about the intellect and customs of the world from so long ago. It's unconfirmed whether or not these ancient civilizations knew the honey would last longer than any of their lifetimes, but it's an incredible example of honey's staying power.
King Tutankhamun's honey is dethroned
Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock
The ancient Egyptians are likely the most famously known civilization to utilize the unique properties of honey in their day to day lives with hieroglyphics depicting the keeping of bees and harvesting of honey outside of the Sun Temple. This long-standing association of early beekeeping and Egypt was only furthered when the previously mentioned sealed jars of honey were found after researchers pillaged the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922.
ADVERTISEMENT
Perhaps the bravest and most adventurous thing those explorers did on their journey was taste the forbidden honey and found, much to their surprise, that it was still fresh and sweet after all that time, and not at all cursed. That is because the natural acidity and low moisture in honey will keep it safe to eat for a long time if sealed properly. Under the right conditions, even it were to crystallize, a jar of honey could technically be edible forever.
The original beekeepers
Kosolovskyy/Getty Images
With the discoveries of honey in Georgian tombs, researchers believe that Georgia was not only heralded as having the first known winemakers in recorded history but potentially the first recorded beekeepers as well. As such, Georgia claims to be the birthplace of honey. Considering that they are one of the first cultures that figured out how to home and domesticate wild bees in man-made hives, we here at Tasting Table think they more than earned that title.
ADVERTISEMENT
Similarly to the Egyptians, Georgians utilized honey for medicinal purposes in burial processes. Berries cured in honey and containers of pure meadow flower, berry, and linden honey each were buried with the deceased as sweet treats that they could carry into the afterlife. In some cases, honey was part of the embalming process itself, leading to exquisitely preserved artifacts that haven't been ravaged by time. After all, life is short, honey is forever.
In 2012, archaeologists discovered honey in Georgia that is estimated to be around 5,500 years old, making it the world's oldest honey. The honey was found in ceramic vessels during oil pipeline construction west of Tbilisi, Georgia.
The oldest record of honey collecting dates back to 8,000-10,000 years ago. Cave drawing depicting a person climbing a rope ladder on the edge of a cliff and collecting honey from a dangerous bee nest. Cuevas de la Araña (Spider Cave). Valencia, Spain. [512x640]
The caves are in the valley of the river Escalona and were used by prehistoric people who left rock art. They are known for painted images of a bow and arrowgoat hunt and for a scene depicting a human figure foraging honey, the earliest known depiction of bees and the oldest evidence of honey consumption by Homo sapiens.
The dating of such art is controversial, but the famous honey-gathering painting is believed to be epipaleolithic and is estimated to be around 8000 years old.[1]
The caves were discovered in the early twentieth century by a local teacher, Jaume Garí i Poch. They are included in the World Heritage Site Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin.
Photo story: the Nepalese honey hunters facing some of the largest bees in the world
The Gurung ethnic group has been collecting wild honey in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal for centuries, risking their lives to harvest sticky combs from cliff nests using ancient techniques handed down through generations.
