Primary domestication and early uses of the emblematic olive tree: palaeobotanical, historical and molecular evidence from the Middle East

Abstract

Our knowledge of the origins of olive tree domestication in the Middle East and on the processes governing its extension and persistence in different vegetation types from prehistory through antiquity to modern times derives from diverse sources, spanning the biological sciences to the humanities. Nonetheless, it lacks a robust overview that may lead to floating interpretations. This is especially true in the Middle East, considered as the cradle of agriculture, and where the evolutionary history of this emblematic tree is intertwined with that of civilizations. Olive fruit, oil and wood have been, since Prehistoric times, characteristic products of the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. In the domestic economy of these countries, the olive tree gradually became a traditional tree crop since the first oil extraction, through the emergence of regional commerce that accompanied the rise and fall of early Near-Middle Eastern urbanism, until the development of modern trade, with an oil production estimated at circa 3000000 tons per year. The rising importance of the olive tree in human life has turned the tree into an endless source of fascination in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, a symbol and a sacred tree, widely cited in the Bibles, the Koran, and in ancient literature. Here we argue that advances in radiocarbon chronology, palaeobotany, genetics, and archaeology-history have profoundly refined the history of olive trees in the Middle East. This review shows that the heartland of primary olive domestication must be enlarged to the Levant and not only focus on the Jordan Valley. The domestication of the olive tree is a long and ongoing process, linked to the early production of oil and the development of the olive trade. We also suggest that the olive tree became a particular icon, a sacred tree, during the Biblical period in the Levant.

The complex history of the olive tree: from Late Quaternary diversification of Mediterranean lineages to primary domestication in the northern Levant

“…europaea) is the most iconic species owing to its ecological, economical and cultural importance [2][3][4]. This plant is considered one of the best biological indicators of the Mediterranean climate [3,5], and its cultivation has accompanied the emergence of Early Mediterranean civilizations [4]. The importance of the cultivated olive tree in people's lives has turned this species into a symbol in ancient sacred literature, and the origins of this crop are often subject to controversies [4].…”

“…This plant is considered one of the best biological indicators of the Mediterranean climate [3,5], and its cultivation has accompanied the emergence of Early Mediterranean civilizations [4]. The importance of the cultivated olive tree in people's lives has turned this species into a symbol in ancient sacred literature, and the origins of this crop are often subject to controversies [4]. Although early exploitation and use of wild olive trees (namely oleasters) has been documented since the Neolithic from the Near East to Spain [2,6], it is usually accepted that the domestication of the olive tree-characterized by vegetative propagation of the best cultivated genotypes that may have preceded orchard establishmentbegan in the Near East approximately 6000 years ago [2,4].…”

“…Among the old crops of the Mediterranean basin, the olive tree (Olea europaea ssp. europaea) is the most iconic species owing to its ecological, economical and cultural importance [2][3][4]. This plant is considered one of the best biological indicators of the Mediterranean climate [3,5], and its cultivation has accompanied the emergence of Early Mediterranean civilizations [4].…”

Holocene vegetation history of the southern Levant based on a pollen record from Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel

“…6,500-5,800 cal bp) north of the Dead Sea (Neef 1990;Weiss 2015), which is outside the potential natural distribution area of wild Olea as a component of the Mediterranean biome (Danin 1988(Danin , 1999. Considerable olive oil production took place as early as the pre-Gassulian late Pottery Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic along the Carmel coast and Lower Galilee, probably using wild Olea oleaster forms as described by Kislev (1994Kislev ( -1995, Galili et al (1997) and summarized in reviews by Kaniewski et al (2012) and Weiss (2015). Furthermore, very recent evidence of olive oil in pottery containers from Ein Zipporat, southwest of the Sea of Galilee and dating to the 6th and 5th millennia bce show that the beginning of oil production was several centuries earlier (Namdar et al 2015).…”

Charred olive stones: experimental and archaeological evidence for recognizing olive processing residues used as fuel

“…At these sites, the archaeobotanical samples have been exposed to flotation and the stone fragments could be broken again resulting in sharp edges. However, numerous finds of olive stone fragments from archaeological sites (for a most recent discussion see Kaniewski et al 2012) could be considered as remains from oil crushing and pressing.…”