During the past 30 years, molecular analyses have provided an important corpus of evidence for the exploitation of Apis mellifera products, honey and beeswax, since the Neolithic. In this paper, we report the earliest, to our knowledge, evidence of bee product exploitation in Cyprus dated to the Ceramic Neolithic (5^th millennium BC) and the Chalcolithic periods (4^th–mid 3^rd millennia BC). Systematic sampling and analysis of organic remains absorbed in the walls of ceramic containers from the Ceramic Neolithic sites of Sotira Teppes and Kantou Kouphovounos and also the Middle Chalcolithic site of Erimi Pamboula, located to the central and southern part of Cyprus, were undertaken. We conducted lipid residue analysis in seventy-nine sherd samples, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry that provided direct chemical evidence for the presence of beeswax residues in twelve vessels from Erimi Pamboula and one vessel from Sotira Teppes. These findings bring new light on the use of beeswax in Cyprus, pushing back the date for the exploitation of Apis mellifera on the island to the second half of the 5^th millennium BC. The sampled vessels do not imply a pattern in pottery types where beeswax was preserved, although its extensive presence at Erimi Pamboula ceramics suggests the diachronic use of bee products in the area.

在过去的30年中，自新石器时代以来，分子分析为开发蜜蜂蜜蜂，蜂蜜和蜂蜡提供了重要的证据。在本文中，我们报道了在塞浦路斯蜜蜂产品开发追溯至新石器时代陶瓷（5最早，据我们所知，有证据^个千年BC）和（4铜石并用时期^日-mid 3^次千年BC）。系统取样和有机残留分析陶瓷容器壁吸收了索蒂拉的陶瓷新石器时代遗址Teppes和关东Kouphovounos还的Erimi的中东铜石并用现场Pamboula设在塞浦路斯中部和南部。我们使用气相色谱-质谱法对79个羊皮样品中的脂质残留物进行了分析，该方法提供了直接化学证据，证明来自Erimi Pamboula的十二个容器和来自Sotira Teppes的一个容器中存在蜂蜡残留物。这些发现带来塞浦路斯使用蜂蜡新光源，推回日期开采蜜蜂在岛上的5下半年^次公元前。尽管在艾里米·邦波拉（Ereimi Pamboula）广泛存在陶器，但所采样的器皿并不暗示保存有蜂蜡的陶器类型。 陶瓷表明该地区长期使用蜂产品。