The core area of fruit-tree cultivation: Central Jordan Valley (Levant), ca. 7,000 BP

Abstract

: While it is widely accepted that the five main fruit trees that established horticulture in the late prehistoric period are: olive (Olea europaea), common fig (Ficus carica), grapevine (Vitis vinifera), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), and pomegranate (Punica granatum), there is much less agreement on where, when, and why this happened. This review paper1 gathers all recent archaeological and archaeobotanical information on the topic and suggests that all five founders were first assembled into a package in one geographically small region - the Central Jordan Valley. From this core area, knowledge and/or genetic materials were shifted to nearby regions. Yet, it cannot be ruled out that other parallel independent domestications may have occurred in other regions. 14C dates provided in this study indicate that the beginning of this development is dated at ca. 7,000 years cal. BP., earlier than previously considered. It seems that the primary motivation has been related to political and socioeconomic considerations rather than climatological-environmental concerns or other factors. The paper also discusses the cost-effective benefits of simultaneously cultivating several fruit trees. Understanding the early stages of horticulture sheds light on the history of our civilizations, which, according to this study, preceded urbanization or state formation by more than a millennium and a half. A better understanding of the origin and early stages of this development is also of great importance, given the immediate need to adapt horticultural practices to environmental degradation and global climate changes.