Gathering honey in prehistoric times. This rock painting,
found in the Spider Cave at Valencia, Spain, dates back to about 8000 BCE and appears to show two people
raiding a wild beehive. The leader (enlarged at right) may be carrying a basket for the honeycomb. Artificial hives and the domestication of bees are known from about 2500 BCE in Egypt. (Redrawn from H. Ransome, The Sacred Bee, 1937.)