‘The bees are our sheep’: the role of honey and fat in the transition to livestock keeping during the last two thousand years in southernmost Africa

Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction Coupled to GC/MS for the Analysis of Volatiles of Honeys from Arid and Mediterranean Areas of Algeria

“…As displayed in Table 1, most of the detected compounds are considered as natural substances usually present in foods, essential oils, floral fragrances or in honey, such as 1,3-di-tert-butylbenzene, 6-methyl-6-(5-methyl-2-furyl)-2-heptanone and methyl 3,5dimethoxybenzoate were found in honeys. [16 -18] 1,7 ]decan-5-one (major compounds) was identified in receptive stage during pollination of the flower by the bee, [21] whereas 2,6-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-(1-oxopropyl)phenol was detected exclusively in the pollinating plants. [22] Indeed, 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenol was also detected in our samples with non-negligible amounts, it was already detected in the bee stomach extracted by dichloromethane.…”

“…The AHC statistical analysis of the different honey regions under PDMS-CAR-45°C conditions permitted the formation of three groups (G1'', G2'', and G3''). The group G1'' contains honey H1, H2, H3, H4, and H6 and was characterized by 1,3-di-tert-butylbenzene and 1undecyne, the group G2'' consisted H5 and was characterized by 2,2,6,7-tetramethyl-10-oxatricyclo [5.2.1.0 1,6 ]decan-5-one, and finally the group G3'' characterized by 2,2,6,7-tetramethyl-10-oxatricyclo [5.2.1.0 1,6 ]decan-5-one. Under these conditions, the groups formed have no relation to the region or botanical origin.…”

“…Honey is one of the oldest foods known to human because of its great nutritional value and its therapeutic use in traditional medicine . It is elaborated by honey bees from the nectar of the plants.…”

“…Honey is one of the oldest foods known to human because of its great nutritional value and its therapeutic use in traditional medicine. [1] It is elaborated by honey bees from the nectar of the plants. In general the sugar as a major substance, there are also proteins (amino acids), vitamins, minerals, organic acids, alcohols, enzymes, lipids, [2] and other substances presenting a wide range of biological effects such as antioxidant, antibacterial and other therapeutic effects.…”

The Solitary Shaman: Itinerant Healers and Ritual Seclusion in the Namib Desert During the Second Millennium ad

“…Bahn 2001;Bednarik 1990;McCall 2007;Quinlan 2000), but within southern Africa, there is consensus among rock-art scholars and ethnologists as to the theoretical soundness of, and the empirical support for, shamanic explanation in the ethnography and rock art (Lewis-Williams & Dowson 1990a;Lewis-Williams & Pearce 2012;2015). Treating the rock art as representative of shamanic experiences in altered consciousness, through the use of elaborate graphic metaphors, forms a focus of research which continues to yield important new insights into southern African huntergatherer thought (Blundell 2005;Challis 2005;Eastwood & Eastwood 2006;Hollmann 2015;Russel & Lander 2015). These, in turn, have entered the more general discussion of shamanic experience (Craffert 2011;Krippner 2000;Winkelman 2002).…”