Abstract

The first exploited and domesticated olive forms are still unknown. The exceptionally well-preserved stones from the submerged Hishuley Carmel site (Israel), dating from the middle of the 7th millennium BP, offer us the opportunity to study the oldest table olives discovered so far. We apply a geometrical morphometric analysis in reference to a collection of modern stones from supposed wild populations and traditional varieties of various origins, genetic lineages and uses. Analyses carried out on modern material allow the characterization of the extent of stone morphological variation in the olive tree and the differentiation of distinct morphotypes. They also allow to discuss the status of supposed wild populations and the divergence between groups of varieties and their wild progenitors, interpreted from evolutionary and biogeographical perspectives. The shape of archaeological stones compared to the differentiation model unveils morphological traits of olives most likely belonging to both wild olive trees and domesticated forms, with some of them showing a notable domestication syndrome. These forms at the early stages of domestication, some of which are surprisingly morphologically close to modern varieties, were probably used for dual use (production of olive oil and table olives), and possibly contributed to the dispersion of the olive tree throughout the Mediterranean Basin and to its subsequent diversification.

Highlights

  • The olive tree (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea.) is undoubtedly the iconic fruit tree of the Mediterranean Basin

  • The polynomial coefficients are synthetic shape variables, and were treated as quantitative variables in a Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) whose explanatory variable takes 72 modalities corresponding to supposed wild populations and cultivars

  • The morphological disparity between wild populations and cultivars is summarized within two Mahalanobis distance matrices between each population or cultivar centroid

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Summary

Introduction

The olive tree (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea.) is undoubtedly the iconic fruit tree of the Mediterranean Basin. Europaea) [4], is a characteristic element of the Mediterranean vegetation, in particular of the meso-thermomediterranean bioclimatic stages of which it is one of its main markers [5]. It can be found, often mixed with numerous feral individuals escaped from cultivation [6], in the matorrals and woodlands of xerophytic Mediterranean areas. Its distribution area is less extensive than that of the cultivated olive tree. More than 1200 olive varieties are cultivated all around the Mediterranean which accounts for 90% of the cultivated area globally [8], to produce oil and table olives (https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/ (accessed on 25 October 2021))

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