The Time Value of Honey

According to the Honey Association, it's hard to tell how long honey has been collected by humans since the earliest records are from the beginnings of recorded history. Early cave paintings show ancient humans gathering honey.

Over the years honey has been used for a variety of things in a variety of cultures. In ancient cultures, honey and bees was used as a symbol of royalty. Bees were the symbol of popes, Greek and Egyptian gods, and stamped on currency.  Napoleon used bees on his flag carried into battle.

Honey was also used a sweetener since ancient times. This use as a sweetener continued through Egypt and Greece cultures, and was continued to be used commonly in European cultures up until the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, sugar imported from other countries started to widely replace honey as a sweetener.

A final use of honey throughout history is for medicinal purposes. Below is a short video describing honey and beeswax as a medicine in Egypt.

Sources
http://www.honeyassociation.com/index.asp?pid=9
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Cueva_arana.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/438066808_92609772e8_b.jpg
http://www.infoelba.com/discovering-elba/curious-facts/the-flag-of-the-island-of-elba/