Abstract
Olive ( Olea europaea L.) was one of the most important fruit trees in the ancient Mediterranean region and a founder species of horticulture in the Mediterranean Basin. Different views have been expressed regarding the geographical origins and timing of olive cultivation. Since genetic studies and macro-botanical remains point in different directions, we turn to another proxy – the palynological evidence. This study uses pollen records to shed new light on the history of olive cultivation and large-scale olive management. We employ a fossil pollen dataset composed of high-resolution pollen records obtained across the Mediterranean Basin covering most of the Holocene. Human activity is indicated when Olea pollen percentages rise fairly suddenly, are not accompanied by an increase of other Mediterranean sclerophyllous trees, and when the rise occurs in combination with consistent archaeological and archaeobotanical evidence. Based on these criteria, our results show that the southern Levant served as the locus of primary olive cultivation as early as ~6500 years BP (yBP), and that a later, early/mid 6th millennium BP cultivation process occurred in the Aegean (Crete) – whether as an independent large-scale management event or as a result of knowledge and/or seedling transfer from the southern Levant. Thus, the early management of olive trees corresponds to the establishment of the Mediterranean village economy and the completion of the ‘secondary products revolution’, rather than urbanization or state formation. From these two areas of origin, the southern Levant and the Aegean olive cultivation spread across the Mediterranean, with the beginning of olive horticulture in the northern Levant dated to ~4800 yBP. In Anatolia, large-scale olive horticulture was palynologically recorded by ~3200 yBP, in mainland Italy at ~3400 yBP, and in the Iberian Peninsula at mid/late 3rd millennium BP.
Highlights
Olive (Olea europaea L.) is regarded as the most prominent and probably the most economically important fruit tree of the Mediterranean Basin, providing edible fruits and, more importantly, storable oil
Within the three south Levantine palynological records, Olea pollen is present during the early Holocene (~10,000–7000 years BP (yBP))
A dramatic change occurs in the following centuries, when a profound increase in olive pollen is documented within the three south Levantine sequences: in the Dead Sea and Hula records, the rise in olive pollen occurs at ~6500 yBP, while at the Sea of Galilee a somewhat earlier age is suggested – at ~7000 yBP
Summary
Olive (Olea europaea L.) is regarded as the most prominent and probably the most economically important fruit tree of the Mediterranean Basin, providing edible fruits and, more importantly, storable oil. Whereas the wild olive is considered a sensitive bioindicator for the Mediterranean bioclimatic zone (Moriondo et al, 2013; Zohary, 1973), cultivation has caused the species The importance of olive manipulation was highlighted by Renfrew (1972), who suggested that the emergence of the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations was linked to the development of a polycultural triad of wheat, vine, and olive. In his view, olive was cultivated on marginal agricultural land, allowing the production of surplus, population growth and socio-economic changes, advances in technology, and the expansion of exchange. This suggestion has been criticized (e.g. Hamilakis, 1996; Runnels and Hansen, 1986), it demonstrates the far-reaching importance ascribed to olive exploitation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
