The Archaeology of beekeeping by Ava Crane might be a good place to start.
 
 
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>Reply-To:     Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
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>From:         [log in to unmask]
>Subject:      AMERICAN BEE SP.
>To:           ZHIYONG HUANG <[log in to unmask]>
>
>Please forgive a non-entomologist's ignorance but there are several
>questions which I hope someone can answer for me.  I understand that
>the bee that I know as the common 'honey bee' is in fact an European
>import yet Native Americans were enthusiastic consumers of honey.  Can
>anyone suggest likely cantidates for American honey producers?  Those
>species that I can find references to make no mention of honey production.
>        Any insights, suggestions, references would be welcome.  My field
>is Anthropological Linguistics and quite frankly, when it comes to bees,
>I am at a loss.
>Thank you
>Roger B. Coon
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