Dating to the Mesolithic era and with an age of around 8,000 years, the Man of Bicorp is the oldest surviving depiction of honey gathering by humankind. It is located in the Coves de l’Aranya (Spider Caves), a group of caves in Bicorp, Spain. The caves gathered scientific attention in early 20th century and the Man of Bicorp is the best known representation in the caves.
Table of Contents
S1 – Discovery
The municipality of Bicorp is located in València in eastern Spain. Coves de l’Aranya (Spider Caves) are a group of caves in Bicorp. The presence of cave art there was known to the local population from a long time. In early 20th century, Jaime Poch y Garí saw three open shelters at the site while he was hiking. Jaime Poch worked for the Palaeontological and Prehistoric Research Commission. His report aroused the interest of Eduardo Hernández Pacheco, a Spanish paleontologist and archaeologist. It was Pacheco who headed the first scientific study of the cave in 1920. Man of Bicorp is the best known representation at the Spider Caves.
S2 – Description
The painting shows a man or a woman climbing a rickety rope-ladder with a bag in hand. The person depicted is suspended over the side of a cliff and is robbing a nest of bees. The artist has ingeniously used a cavity in the rock to represent the hole of the hive. The way the legs of the figure are bent suggests that it is holding the ladder with an arm and both legs. There are a number of x-shaped dots around the main depiction. These are believed to be representations of bees.
S3 – Age
The Man of Bicorp in the Spider Caves is the oldest surviving depiction of honey gathering by humans. Although the dating of prehistoric art is controversial, the famous honey-gathering painting is estimated to be 8,000 years old which puts it in the Mesolithic Era.
S4 – Prehistoric Rock Art Purpose
S5 – Mesolithic Art Overview
Main Sources
S1:-
Castellano, Núria. (Dec 21, 2021). “The Honey Harvester”. El Temps de les Arts.
S2:-
Saed, Omnia. (Dec 16, 2021). “Found: A 7,500-Year-Old Cave Painting of Humans Gathering Honey”. Atlas Obscura.
Castellano, Núria. (Dec 21, 2021). “The Honey Harvester”. El Temps de les Arts.
S3:-
Ullmann, Fritz. (2003). “Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry”. John Wiley & Sons.