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A Short History of Beekeeping — Transcript

by The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered · 2,673 words · 449 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01foreign
0:05[Music]
0:12if you have a jar of honey in your
0:14cupboard you're not exactly alone
0:15Americans consume some 618 million
0:18pounds of honey in 2021 and the
0:21worldwide honey Market is valued at more
0:23than 8 billion dollars it's not exactly
0:26forgotten history that bees play a vital
0:28role in the ecosystem and our key to
0:31pollinating plants worldwide but perhaps
0:34less well known is exactly how long the
0:36history between humans and bees go
0:38perhaps among the oldest relationships
0:40between humanity and another species
0:44it deserves to be remembered that humans
0:46have been collecting honey and
0:47protecting and nurturing beehives since
0:50pre-history
0:51apiculture or beekeeping has been
0:53practiced by humans for Millennia honey
0:55is most commonly collected today from
0:57the bees of the apis genus especially
1:00the Western honeybee native to Africa
1:01Europe and the Middle East unlike most
1:04bee species honeybees live socially in
1:06colonies built around a single queen
1:09cultures around the world have
1:10Incorporated bees into their mythology
1:11from the Egyptians and ancient Greeks to
1:13Hindu hittite and sand mythology
1:16depictions of humans Gathering honey
1:18from wild bees date to at least 10 000
1:20years ago including eight thousand year
1:22old cave paintings from near Valencia
1:23Spain that show Wild Honey Gathering
1:26for hunter-gatherer societies searching
1:28for Wild Honey Bee nests is called honey
1:29hunting archaeologists have discovered
1:32chemical residue of beeswax across
1:33Europe North Africa in the near East
1:35proving that humans have been exploiting
1:37bee related products for at least nine
1:40thousand years
1:41evidence that humans maintained
1:43artificial hives specifically for
1:44collecting honey only comes much later
1:46ancient Egyptians are known to have been
1:49maintaining artificial hives for as long
1:50as 4 500 years the honeybee is commonly
1:53depicted in ancient Egyptian art from
1:55the founding of the first dynasty when
1:56the title sealer of the honey was first
1:58given 5100 years ago
2:01a fifth Dynasty tomb from 4 400 years
2:04ago depicts workers blowing smoke into
2:05beehives in order to remove the
2:07honeycomb not dissimilar from Modern
2:09practices
2:11an Egyptian official was responsible for
2:13mounting expeditions to the desert to
2:14collect honey and resin from bee nests a
2:17manuscript from the time of Ramses III
2:19has the Pharaoh saying to a god that I
2:21have made you archers and collectors of
2:23Honey to collect honey for you
2:26beeswax was used in the casting of
2:28copper objects in Lost wax casting in
2:30the Bronze Age such as objects found in
2:32Judea between 5000 and 5 500 years ago
2:35and in ancient Sumeria in Lost wax
2:38casting wax is used to make a mold in
2:40sand the sand is then heated until the
2:42wax melts and brass or bronze can be
2:44poured into the mold
2:45numerous references in the Old Testament
2:47also relate to Honey into Canaan is the
2:50land of milk and honey in The Iliad
2:52Hummer refers to bees storing up honey
2:54in jars likely the jars have become
2:56homes for beehives Mesolithic paintings
2:59from Central India also show Honey
3:00Hunters beekeeping seems to have come
3:03slightly later to China and with
3:04different local species of bees the
3:06earliest mention of beekeeping in China
3:08comes from the 5th Century BC
3:10the ancient Hittites had lost to punish
3:13anyone who stole Beast swarms or hives
3:15the sand people of South Africa also
3:17relied on honey in prehistoric times and
3:19bees and Honeycombs play a large role in
3:21their rock art the oldest honey ever
3:23discovered was found in the country of
3:24Georgia in a nobleman's grave from
3:26around five thousand five hundred years
3:27ago the website saved the bees explains
3:30the tomb belonged to an important Chief
3:32or leader he had several other people
3:34buried with him inside his Bronze Age
3:36burial site where wild berry offerings
3:38to the dead they were still red and
3:41Incredibly well preserved despite being
3:424 300 years old because they were cured
3:45with ancient honey
3:46this handily beat the previous record of
3:48Honey found in King Tut's tomb two
3:50thousand years newer
3:52the oldest direct archaeological
3:54evidence for beekeeping comes from a
3:56site in Israel dated to 900 BC where 30
3:59intact hives of straw and unbaked clay
4:01were discovered archaeologists suggest
4:03as many as a hundred hives could have
4:04been kept at the site which could
4:06produce 1 100 pounds of honey annually
4:09a 4th Century BC Egyptian Papyrus
4:11describes building artificial hives
4:13advising that one does not build a royal
4:15palace for the honeybee a hive of dung
4:17is better than a hive of stone
4:19in the ancient Greek city of NASA
4:21beekeeping paraphernalia such as hives
4:24honey extractors and smoking pots have
4:26been found
4:27across the world in Central America the
4:29ancient Maya were collecting honey from
4:31an entirely different kind of bee
4:32distinguished be of the genus moaponini
4:35keeping stingless bees is called
4:37malaponic culture and the Maya kept bees
4:39in highs from at least the 3rd Century
4:41BC
4:42according to the journal ACTA Americana
4:44Maya meloponiculture reached a higher
4:46level than anywhere else in the world
4:48the Maya continued to practice
4:50beekeeping the same way their ancestors
4:51did keeping hives in Hollow horizontal
4:53Logs with one enclosed by a disc of wood
4:56or stone
4:57when the Spanish arrived each Maya
4:59household had as many as 60 hives B and
5:02honey played a large role in Maya
5:03culture and religion honey was used in
5:05the creation of alcoholic drinks used in
5:07rituals and they worship bee and
5:08beekeeper gods
5:10despite the Antiquity of beekeeping as
5:12an activity there remains some
5:13considerable disagreement of whether
5:15bees are truly domesticated it appears
5:18that apiculture began in Egypt before
5:20spreading throughout Europe Africa and
5:21the Middle East and while it appeared
5:23separately in China and possibly India
5:26initially humans likely attempted to get
5:28bees to settle their hive in more
5:29convenient locations to gather honey
5:31before Apiaries were established
5:33humans have affected B genetics through
5:35artificial selection selecting colonies
5:37that produce more honey were less
5:38aggressive and were heartier especially
5:40in cold weather
5:41in 1603 an English writer wrote that the
5:44bee I may well reckon a domestic insect
5:46being so pliable to the benefit of The
5:48Beekeeper
5:49some modern writers however have
5:51questioned the degree of domestication
5:52despite thousands of years of
5:54semi-captivity researchers PR Oxley and
5:57BP old Droid argue that bees are only
6:00managed and that they are largely
6:01unchanged from their wild cousins
6:03others note that bees even in colonies
6:05managed by men are perfectly capable of
6:07leaving artificial hides to establish
6:09wild hives without intervention
6:12domesticated or not they were kept in
6:14artificial hives over much of the world
6:15in the Common Era Roman writer Barrow
6:18describes some beekeepers building hives
6:19of wicker others of wood Embark others
6:22of a hollow tree others built of
6:23earthenware and still others fashion
6:25them of fennel stocks several Roman
6:27writers disparaged the use of baked clay
6:29hives as poor quality while thimble
6:31shaped big clay hives have been found at
6:33Greek sites
6:34north of Italy bees were kept
6:36differently east and west of the elb
6:37river to the West skeps basically
6:40overturned baskets were most common made
6:42of wicker grass and straw depictions are
6:44common in medieval manuscripts were
6:47often harvested by tossing the entire
6:48Hive into the water to drown the bees
6:50before harvesting the honey
6:52in Eastern Europe bee forests were more
6:54common beekeepers would cut or expand
6:56cavities and trees to attract hives 5 to
6:5825 meters up the tree
7:00warmer regions such as Spain used cork
7:03hives to protect the colonies from Heat
7:05most of these early highs would have to
7:07be destroyed or seriously damaged to
7:09gather the honey
7:11in middle age Europe beekeeping was a
7:13lucrative an important task sugar was
7:15not widely available so honey was the
7:17only common food sweetener it was used
7:19to brew Mead and flavor ailed sweetened
7:21porridge and was used as an ointment on
7:23wounds and rubbed on a horse's legs when
7:24it was ill
7:26but the more important and lucrative
7:27product was beeswax was used as an
7:30adhesive a binder for charcoal black
7:32pigment and other paint for sculpture
7:34for casting metals and for candles
7:36West African cultures use beeswax to
7:38cast brass gold weights beeswax has been
7:41found intact from various sites
7:42including a Bronze Age Foundry
7:44monasteries regularly raised beets for
7:47wax but often needed more and English
7:49Abbey south of London recorded producing
7:50155 pounds of wax in 1269.70.
7:54wax was also used to shape religious
7:56icons to leave it shrines in churches
7:58and mixed with resin it was used for wax
8:00seals
8:01wax was imported across medieval Europe
8:03especially from Russia Spain and Africa
8:06no illustrations of beehives have been
8:08found from the so-called Dark Ages but
8:10beekeeping seems to have flourished Mead
8:12is mentioned in poems including the 8th
8:14Century Beowulf Charlemagne required all
8:17manners to keep bees and that two-thirds
8:19of the honey produce be given to the
8:21crown
8:22laws from the reign of King Alfred of
8:24Wessex recorded that Steelers of bees
8:26would face harsh fines
8:28beehives were even used as weapons in
8:30908 citizens of the city of Chester and
8:32England broke a Siege by throwing
8:34beehives over the walls
8:36William the conquerors Doomsday Book
8:38included a survey of the number of
8:39beekeepers and hives 601 hives were
8:42counted in Essex
8:44and old Anglo-Saxon term has been found
8:46that was spoken in an attempt to keep
8:48bees from swarming which starts seal
8:50down Victory women sink to Earth never
8:53be wild and fly to the woods
8:55there's also an old custom found
8:56throughout Europe have been forming the
8:58hives of marriages births and deaths
9:00called telling the bees if not informed
9:03the Swarms might die or become
9:04aggressive
9:05though today it is hard to imagine
9:07beekeeping without protective suits it
9:09seems to have come late to apaculture no
9:11depictions of protective clothing exist
9:13until the 14th century when a Flemish
9:15manuscript shows a beekeeper wearing a
9:16veil a French version of Virgil's
9:18georgics shows a kind of tailored cowl
9:21by the mid 15th century drawing show
9:23beekeepers wearing clothes resembling
9:24modern protective clothing
9:26while relatively little about Chinese
9:28apoculture has survived in 1273 the
9:32Mongol government published a book with
9:33a section on beekeeping which displays
9:35nuanced knowledge of the art 200 years
9:38before any similar book was produced in
9:39Europe
9:40Korea and Japan also kept bees by at
9:43least the 7th century
9:44in Southeast Asia relief at Angkor Wat
9:47shows bees being collected in artificial
9:49hives
9:50probably the most important advancement
9:52in apiculture was the invention of
9:54artificial hives that could be harvested
9:55without killing or even seriously
9:57disturbing The Colony
9:59in 1696 a refugee from Crete in Italy
10:02describes his time in Crete from before
10:041669. he describes traditional top bar
10:07Greek beehives which had a number of
10:09small lengths of wood two fingers in
10:10breath LED across the top of a
10:12basket-like or ceramic hive
10:14the honeycomb was produced along the
10:16bars which could then be removed several
10:18of the bars would be left intact to
10:20maintain the hive
10:21examples are still in use today while
10:23possible versions of this movable comb
10:25Hive have been dated to the arcade Greek
10:26period between 750 and 480 BC even older
10:30possible hives have been found dated to
10:323 500 years ago
10:34Travelers noted these kind of Greek
10:36highs by 1676 and in several later
10:38Publications Thomas Wildman published A
10:41Treatise on the management of bees in
10:431768 and described the construction of a
10:45hive with parallel wood bars atop a
10:47straw Hive so that there are in all
10:50seven bars of deal to which the bees fix
10:52their Combs
10:53he also described hives with sliding
10:55frames Wellman's work also described
10:57other advances reporting on highs meant
10:59to preserve bee colonies from Brittany
11:01in the 1750s
11:03in the 1700s a sovenian painter and a
11:06teacher of apoculture named Anton yanza
11:08changed the shape and size of beehives
11:10making them smaller and square so that
11:13they could be stacked
11:14professionals like yansa and scientists
11:16began to examine bees more closely
11:18during the Enlightenment in 1814
11:20Ukrainian Petro Pro kokovic invented the
11:23world's first Hive which used frames in
11:26the 18th century Swiss naturalist
11:27Francois Huber developed a movable comb
11:30Hive that had wooden leaves that could
11:32be flipped like the pages of a book
11:34in the 1830s Polish apiarist Johann
11:37girjin created a movable comb Hive with
11:40exact measurements for the distance
11:41between cones
11:42in 1850 Lorenzo langstroth a minister
11:45born in Philadelphia studied georgian's
11:47work as well as yonces before he began
11:49developing his own movable comb hive he
11:52noticed that when the bees had less than
11:54nine millimeters but more than six
11:55millimeters of space to move they would
11:57not block the path nor build comb into
11:59it
12:00exact measurements this encouraged more
12:02efficient building of comb and langstaff
12:05dubbed the distance b space
12:07craft developed a new frame Hive that
12:10incorporated these spaces and prevented
12:11bees from building the honeycomb on the
12:13sides of the hive box or cementing areas
12:15closed
12:16bees instead only build along the frames
12:19and even the frame comb is kept separate
12:21the patent for his Hive called the
12:23langstroth Hive was granted in 1852 his
12:26high was practical and top open which
12:28proved to be more popular than various
12:30other designs invented around the same
12:31time
12:32The langstroth Hive in its basic form
12:34remains one of the world's most popular
12:36designs and the basic design of the
12:38national beehive more commonly used in
12:40England
12:41this Hive design is the basis for
12:43commercial honey production in Europe in
12:44the United States and further
12:46advancement in Hive designs have
12:47followed around the world often designed
12:49to fit the particular climate or B
12:51subspecies being raised
12:52in 2006 beekeepers in the United States
12:55began reporting dramatic losses of up to
12:5790 percent of their hives many with
12:59novel symptoms sudden loss of a colony's
13:02order bee population while similar
13:04collapses have been recorded the sudden
13:05rise led to the coining of colony
13:07collapse disorder
13:09the cause of the disorder is still
13:11somewhat unclear although studies to
13:12only point to pesticides the varroa
13:15might and extreme weather but similar
13:17unexplained events have occurred
13:18throughout history in 1869 an anonymous
13:21beekeeper reported colonies dying but
13:22leaving behind ample amounts of honey in
13:25the 1890s similar reports of colony
13:27collapse were reported clustered in May
13:29leading to the name May disease though
13:31it was possibly a disease called Stone
13:33brood
13:34the Isle of whites are several years of
13:36extraordinary Colony loss without
13:37certain explanation
13:39numerous other events in Australia and
13:40the U.S of Disappearing disease have had
13:42various explanations as recently as the
13:441990s
13:45whether these were also examples of
13:47colony collapse disorder is unclear you
13:50might have heard that honey lasts
13:52forever and to an extent that is true
13:53because of its low moisture high acidity
13:55and the anti-microbial process by which
13:57bees make honey honey actually lasts
13:59indefinitely in Honey found in ancient
14:01tombs is often described as still edible
14:04but please be warned if honey is stored
14:06improperly if it gets moisture inside of
14:08it honey can go bad or ferment
14:11the loss of bees is a sobering idea Penn
14:15State University's Center for pollinator
14:16research says that three-quarters of the
14:18world's major food crops benefit from
14:20pollinators like bees so as you sit down
14:23to eat watermelon kiwi pumpkin cucumber
14:26apples avocados almonds blackberries and
14:28much much more remember to thank a bee
14:32May 20th is worldwide b day a day that
14:36is dedicated to acknowledging the roles
14:38of bees and other pollinators in the
14:40world environment and their importance
14:42to human agriculture to learn more go to
14:45un.org en
14:48observances slash B Dash day
14:52I hope you enjoyed this episode of the
14:54history guide check out our community on
14:56the
14:57historyguyguild.locals.com our webpage
14:59at thehistoryguy.com and our merchandise
15:01at teespring.com or book a special
15:04message from the history guy on Cameo
15:06and if you'd like more episodes of
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15:11[Music]
15:17[Applause]
15:18[Music]

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