Honey is formed by the hydrolysis of the complex sugars in nectar into fructose and glucose. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is formed by the hydrolysis of cornstarch into fructose and glucose. They're chemically extremely similar, except for differences in the ratio of fructose to glucose, and for small traces of other stuff (pollen etc.).
The statements I was responding to claimed that "until recently it was very expensive to get sugar" and then "honey is not the same as refined sugar". Honey is refined sugar formed by the same process as HFCS[0], and some hunter-gatherers get a surprisingly high amount of daily calories from it with seemingly little impact on their health.
[0] From a different precursor, but the general process of breaking down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars is the same, and so is the output
The statements I was responding to claimed that "until recently it was very expensive to get sugar" and then "honey is not the same as refined sugar". Honey is refined sugar formed by the same process as HFCS[0], and some hunter-gatherers get a surprisingly high amount of daily calories from it with seemingly little impact on their health.
[0] From a different precursor, but the general process of breaking down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars is the same, and so is the output