Discovery Of A Beehive And The Identification Of Apiaries Among The Ancient Maya - Review

Write critical review of a recent anthropological journal article on original research. Students will choose between five different bioanthropological or archaeological reports that will be posted on Quercus.

Students must read and review one article from the following list:

Guagnin, Maria, Angela R. Perri, and Michael D. Petraglia. 2018. “Pre-Neolithic evidence for dog-assisted hunting strategies in Arabia.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 49:225-

Zra?ka, Jaros?aw, Christophe Helmke, Laura Sotelo, and Wies?aw Koszkul. 2018. “The discovery of a beehive and the identification of apiaries among the ancient Maya.” Latin American Antiquity 29 (3): 514–531.

Overview of the Article

The European honey bees were introduced in the 19^th century and this occurred much later than the Spanish colonial invasion. However, this is the evidence of the 19^th century and the Mesopotamian societies that reared the bees (stingless American bees) were the Mayans and the Aztecs. There are 15 different types of the bee species that are natively found in America and majority of them are found in the subtropical and the humid tropical forests. In the Mayan civilization, the bee that was preferred by them was the Meliponabeecheii which is also called royal lady in Mayan language (Gómez González 2016). In the Nakum Archaeology project, an exceptional discovery has been made which offered the clay beehives in the Pre-Columbian site of Nakum which is located in the north-eastern part of Guatemala. The findings suggest that it is one of the oldest in the Maya area and even in the entire part of Mesoamerica. However, whether the object is used as an emulation or it has any intended function, or it is a perishable counterpart or is Skeuomorph remains unknown. It is important to highlight that this particular finding has reignited the fact that beekeeping is an activity which cannot be easily traced through the usage of archaeology (?ra?ka et al. 2018). The study here will review an article titled “The discovery of a beehive and the identification of apiaries among the ancient Maya”.

The article authored by ?ra?ka et al. (2018) highlighted that paper will be a discussion of the discovery of the clay beehive in Nakum which dates back to the later part of the pre-classic period and along with it provides a wide array of information on the Pre-Columbian beekeeping. The authors have used the ethno-historical, sources, epigraphic sources, drawing on the archaeological sources and a comparative vantage on the Mesoamerican beekeeping and how beekeeping played a major role in the lives and rituals of the Mayans.Dating of the Artifact and archaeological context- The ceramic tube that have been retrieved from the Nakum beehive from the site “offering 9” has a length of 30.7 cm and it has a maximum diameter of 18 cm. The walls of the artifact are relatively thick and it measures 1.5 cm and the artifact has a hole in the diameter of which measures 3 cm. The artifact is made up of the light ceramic paste and does not have any slip, but it has a striated exterior. The two ceramic covers or the disks that were found to be with the artifact is made up of the black ceramic paste. The ceramic disks measure about 17.0 and 16.7 cm diametrically respectively. However, it is important to note that the interior of the artifact does not have any signs of organic material and does not have any discolouration which suggested that the artifact found is not the actual or a functional beehive. Samples collected from the interior sections of the artifact provided that it has no linkages with the organic material. However, there remains a possibility that the inside of the beehive might have been scraped and before it’s deposition within the cache and there is also a possibility that the organic content might not have survived. The artifact found from the Nakum area does not have any similarity with anything found in the Maya area before (?ra?ka et al. 2014). The nearest counterpart that bear a similarity is with the miniature beehive embellishments that are found over the larger objects like the incense burners. Such artifacts have been found in the north Maya lowlands. The artifacts that were excavated from the “Offering 9” have the counterparts that are known ethnographically and it is still used by the native populations and are known ethnographically. The native population that uses such clay figurines belong from the northern Maya lowlands. It is important to highlight that the such types of beehive artifacts are called as “Jobon”, “Jobnil”, “Jobonil” which signifies something which has cavity or is hollow. From the name itself, “Jobon” are made up of wooden logs that are hollow from the either ends and the two ends are closed and covered on both the ends. The covers are found to be either made up of stone or are made up of the stone and both the ends are held together by dried mud. Both the ends can be removed anytime for the collection of wax and honey. It has been mentioned by the authors that within the Mayans there is a close relationship between the bees and Humans. It has been found that the ancient and the modern Jobon are used exclusively to keep the stingless bees that are endemic and the black bees. The authors have mentioned that the Meliopona sp. holds a special space among the Yucatec Maya communities. Ethno historical sources- There is one god of the Yucatec Maya and that god is called Jobnil who is an eponymous deity associated with the beehives. The offering to this god included the small balls of incense and each of the incense is painted with honey and to it the feats is dedicated. The celebrations at those times ended with the wine and pomp. While majority of the alcoholic beverages were infused with honey and it was offered abundantly among the owners of the beehives. Furthermore, rituals were performed in the 8^th month which was named as Mol, and in this the beekeeper used to make rounds to make the offerings. The offering was made so that the god can provide flowers for the bees. Epigraphic Sources-There is a manuscript within the Mayas and it is known as the Madrid Codex. The distinguishing feature of the Madrid Codex is the inclusion of the deer hunting, idols, masks and wooden figures, beekeeping and weaving. The later portion of the Madrid Codex contains the Beekeeping almanac and it is concerned with the animals that collect honey, harvest honey and prey on the beehives. The almanacs provide an accurate and detailed discussion of the bees and the interiors and the exterior of the log hives. The exteriors of the beehives are depicted in colours of honey along with the possible stoppers and in the shape of a rectangle. Thus, the authors concluded with the fact that honey is used as a sweetener and the source of the sweetness is clearly mentioned in the Mayan languages. In the Mayan language the sweetness is means both the honey and bee. Depending on the ethno historical data, beekeeping is the most important activity among the Mayans. The authors also mentioned in the conclusion that if their conclusion is correct then the Nakum piece might represent a symbolic or a real beehive and it is the oldest in all the Mesoamerica (?ra?ka et al. 2018).

Artifact Dating and Archaeological Context

Positive aspects of the article- The positive aspects of the article lie in the fact that they have highlighted the sections from which they have sourced the information and incorporated within their study. They have highlighted the fact that the entire artifact is one of the rarest findings and have made a well-structured study work to establish the entire fact. The conclusion presented a final analysis of the entire study and the abstract has been presented well to sum up the entire work. The study provides a clear presentation of the information in a readable format.The authors have been able to provide a detailed account of the beekeeping in Mayans and the way Mayans treat the same as a sacred thing (Villanueva-Gutiérrez et al. 2013). Also, the specific species of the bees that have been used in beekeeping is specifically mentioned in the study.

Negative aspects of the article- The negative aspects of the article highlights the fact that the entire study lacks a proper research question, methodology, results and discussion. Although it is important to highlight that the work have a proper abstract, introduction and the conclusion section. Thus, this study must have a proper section of discussion and methodology and result so that it can have a better presentation of the way this work is carried out and the typical results of the entire study. It is still not known for what purpose exactly the artifacts were used and a lot of finding is left to consolidate the organic bee hive structures in the Mayan areas and regions.

Conclusion- From the above discussion is can be concluded that honey is used as a sweetener and the source of the sweetness is clearly mentioned in the Mayan languages. In the Mayan language the sweetness means both the honey and bee. Depending on the ethno historical data, beekeeping is the most important activity among the Mayans. The authors also mentioned in the conclusion that if their conclusion is correct then the Nakum piece might represent a symbolic or a real beehive and it is the oldest in all the Mesoamerica.

This piece of work presents an evidence of the presence of the bee hive structure. This finding in turn consolidates the fact that honey was the chief constituent of the diet of the Mayans. This highlights that the bees are very much an intrinsic part of the environment and the Mayan people used to the revere bees and their roles.  

References

Gómez González, Irma. "A Honey?Sealed Alliance: Mayan Beekeepers in the Yucatan Peninsula versus Transgenic Soybeans in Mexico's Last Tropical Forest." Journal of Agrarian Change 16, no. 4 (2016): 728-736.

Villanueva-Gutiérrez, Rogel, David W. Roubik, WilbertoColli-Ucán, Francisco J. Güemez-Ricalde, and Stephen L. Buchmann. "A critical view of colony losses in managed Mayan honey-making bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in the heart of Zona Maya." Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 86, no. 4 (2013): 352-362.

?ra?ka, Jaros?aw, Christophe Helmke, Laura Sotelo, and Wies?awKoszkul. "THE DISCOVERY OF A BEEHIVE AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF APIARIES AMONG THE ANCIENT MAYA." Latin American Antiquity 29, no. 3 (2018): 514-531.

?ra?ka, Jaros?aw, Wies?awKoszkul, KatarzynaRadnicka, Laura Elena Sotelo Santos, and Bernard Hermes. "Excavations in Nakum structure 99: new data on Protoclassic rituals and Precolumbian Maya beekeeping." Estudios de culturamaya 44, no. 44 (2014): 85-117.