Earliest Evidence of Olive Tree Cultivation Revealed in Study

Researchers from Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University collaborated in search of the earliest evidence of a fruit tree's domestication. The researchers determined that the charcoal remnants found at the Chalcolithic site of Tel Zaf in the Jordan Valley came from olive trees. Because the olive tree does not grow naturally in the Jordan Valley, the researchers conclude that it was planted by the inhabitants about 7,000 years ago.

Dr. Dafna Langgut from Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology & Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University led the groundbreaking research.

Charred Evidence

The charcoal shards were discovered during an archaeological dig led by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel from the Hebrew University's Institute of Archaeology.

Langgut is the head of the Laboratory of Archaeobotany & Ancient Environments, a department that focuses on microscopic plant identification. She explains that even when trees are reduced to charcoal, their anatomic structure can be used to identify them.

She cited that wood was the ancient world's plastic. It was used for making tools and furniture, building, and providing energy. This is why the team chose to identify tree remnants found at archaeological sites, such as charcoal from hearths. The team describes this step as a crucial method for determining what kinds of trees grew naturally at the time and when humans began to domesticate fruit trees.

Langgut identified the charcoal from Tel Zaf as coming from fig and olive trees. She explains that olive trees can be found growing wild in Israel, but not in the Jordan Valley. This indicates that the olive tree was brought there on purpose and that someone took the knowledge and the plant itself outside of its natural habitat.

According to Langgut, this is considered indisputable proof of domestication in archaeobotany, which means they have revealed the earliest evidence of the olive's domestication on the planet. She also found a lot of young fig branch remnants. Although the fig tree grew wild in the Jordan Valley, its branches were of little use as raw materials for tools or furniture and firewood, giving the people no reason to gather large quantities just to transport them to the village. Pruning, which is still used today to increase the yield of fruit trees, produced the fig branches that Langgut analyzed in her lab.

Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University, who led the dig at Tel Zaf, collected the tree remnants examined by Langgut for the study.

Ancient High Society

Garfinkel explained, that Tel Zaf was a large prehistoric village south of Beit She'an in the Jordan Valley, inhabited between 7,200 and 6,700 years ago. The site revealed large houses with courtyards, each with several granaries for storing crops. These caches had storage capacities up to 20 times greater than any single family's calorie consumption, indicating that they were used to store vast sums of goods. The village's wealth was manifested in the creation of intricate pottery that was painted with remarkable skill. In addition, the team discovered articles brought from afar, including Mesopotamian Ubaid pottery, Anatolian obsidian, a copper awl from the Caucasus, and more.

Langgut and Garfinkel were not surprised to learn that the people of Tel Zaf were the first in the world to plant figs and olive groves on purpose, because fruit trees are a sign of wealth, and this location is known to have been extremely wealthy.

More than just Fruit Trees

According to Langgut, fruit tree domestication is a lengthy process that belongs in a prosperous society rather than one that is struggling to survive. Only 3-4 years after planting, trees bear fruit. Fruit tree groves have great social and economic significance in terms of owning land and endowing it to future generations. These procedures suggest the beginnings of a complex society because they require significant initial investment and maintenance to live on for a long time.

She went on to say that Tel Zaf residents can have traded in long-lasting fruit tree products like olive oil, olives, and dried figs. Long-distance trade, which led to the accumulation of material wealth and possibly taxation, may have been enabled by such products. These are the first steps toward transforming the community into a society with an administrative system and a socioeconomic hierarchy.

Langgut concludes that the Tel Zaf archaeological site yielded the world's first evidence of fruit tree domestication, as well as some of the earliest stamps. This could indicate the start of administrative procedures. Overall, the findings point to wealth and the beginnings of a complex multilevel society, with classes of clerks and merchants supplementing the class of farmers.