Abstract
This study provides one of the earliest examples of fruit tree cultivation worldwide, demonstrating that olive (Olea europaea) and fig (Ficus carica) horticulture was practiced as early as 7000 years ago in the Central Jordan Valley, Israel. It is based on the anatomical identification of a charcoal assemblage recovered from the Chalcolithic (7200–6700 cal. BP) site of Tel Tsaf. Given the site’s location outside the wild olive’s natural habitat, the substantial presence of charred olive wood remains at the site constitutes a strong case for horticulture. Furthermore, the occurrence of young charred fig branches (most probably from pruning) may indicate that figs were cultivated too. One such branch was 14C dated, yielding an age of ca. 7000 cal. BP. We hypothesize that established horticulture contributed to more elaborate social contracts and institutions since olive oil, table olives, and dry figs were highly suitable for long-distance trade and taxation.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 7463 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 6 May 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The Tel Tsaf excavations were conducted on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (excavation licenses G-52/2004, G-31/2005, G-53/2006, G-38/2007, produced by the Israel Antiquity Authority). The project was supported by the Philip and Muriel Berman Center for Biblical Archaeology, the Curtiss T. and Mary G. Brennan Foundation, and the Irene Sala CARE Foundation. We wish to thank M. Cavanagh and M. Benzaquen for their laboratory assistance. We are also thankful to I. Ben Ezra and M. Cavanagh for their help preparing the figures. The authors would like to thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers whose commentaries helped to improve the final version of this paper.
Funding Information:
The Tel Tsaf excavations were conducted on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (excavation licenses G-52/2004, G-31/2005, G-53/2006, G-38/2007, produced by the Israel Antiquity Authority). The project was supported by the Philip and Muriel Berman Center for Biblical Archaeology, the Curtiss T. and Mary G. Brennan Foundation, and the Irene Sala CARE Foundation. We wish to thank M. Cavanagh and M. Benzaquen for their laboratory assistance. We are also thankful to I. Ben Ezra and M. Cavanagh for their help preparing the figures. The authors would like to thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers whose commentaries helped to improve the final version of this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).