:: At the shade of the olive-tree

The origin of the olive-tree is lost in the mists of time; its history merges with that of civilizations which were born around the Mediterranean basin and have, for a long time, governed the destinies of the humanity and marked of their print the Western culture.

Among the former people of this zone, only the Assyrians and the Babylonians were unaware of the existence of it. Thus one found fossils of sheets of olive-tree in the layers of Pliocene de Mongardino (Italy); remainders fossilized in the layers of the Palaeolithic superior in the center of snail breeding of Relilai, in North Africa; pieces of oléastres and cores in the excavations of Neolithic and the age of the bronze in Spain, which prove that the existence of the olive-tree goes up in thousand-year-old Xll ^E.

The origin of the woodland olive-tree is in Asia Mineure where it is very abundant and forms true forests. II seems to have extended from Syria towards Greece, through Anatolia (De Candolle, 1883), although other assumptions locate it in Low Egypt, in Nubia, in Ethiopia, in the mountains of the Atlas or certain areas of Europe. It is for that that Caruso regards the olive-tree as an indigenous element of the Mediterranean basin and date the origin of the olive-tree cultivated in Asia Mineure, at approximately 6000 years.

If we accept the assumption according to which it would be originating in a zone extending from the south from the Caucasus to the high plateaus from Iran and the Mediterranean coast from Syria and Palestine (Acerbo), the culture of the olive-tree would have made remarkable great strides in these two last areas and would have extended towards Anatolia by Cyprus or Egypt by Crete.

Starting from the XVI^E front century. J.-C., Phoenicians diffuse the olive-tree in the Greek islands, then of the XIV^E in Xll^E front century. J.-C., in the Hellenic peninsula, where its culture extends. It reaches even a great importance to the IV^E front century. J.-C. when Solon promulgates decrees concerning the plantation of the olive-trees.

Starting from the VI^E front. J.-C., its culture extended to all the Mediterranean basin while passing by Tripoli, Tunisia, Sicily and from there, in the Southern Italy. However, Presta supports that in Italy, the olive-tree goes up at three centuries before the fall of Troy (1200 years front. J.-C.).

Another Roman analyst, Penestrella, defend the tradition according to which the first olive-tree was imported into Italy under the kingdom of Tarquin the Old one (616 to 578 front. J.-C.), probably coming from Tripoli or of Gabès in Tunisia. Its culture extended from the South towards North, from Calabria towards Ligurie. When the Romans reached the north of Africa, the Berber ones could graft the oléastres and developed a true culture on all the territories which they occupied.

The Romans continue the propagation of the olive-tree in all the coastal countries of the Mediterranean, by using it like peaceful instrument in their conquests for the establishment of cities. Introduced in Marseilles 600 years front. J.-C., the olive-tree extended then to all Gaule. It appears in Sardinia at the time Roman and one tells that Genoese introduced it in Corsica after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Introduced in Spain during the maritime domination of Phoenicians (1050 front. J.-C.), the olive-tree made true great strides only with the arrival of Scipion (212 front. J.-C.), and domination of Rome (45 front. J.-C.). After the third Punic War, the plantations of olive-trees occupied of important surfaces in the valley of Bétique, then they extended towards the center and the Mediterranean littoral from the Iberian peninsula. The Arabs introduced their varieties into the south of Spain and had a great influence on the diffusion of these plantations, with such sign that the Spanish words "aceituna" (olive), "aceite" (oil) and "acebuche" (oléastre) is of Arab origin.

The culture of the olive-tree makes a jump apart from the Mediterranean basin with the discovery of America (1492). From Seville, the first olive-trees arrive at the Antilles, then gain the whole of the American continent. In 1560, one finds olive-trees in Mexico, then in Peru, in California, in Chile and in Argentina where one of the plants brought at the time of the conquest remains, the old olive-tree of Arauco.

During more recent periods, the olive-tree continued its expansion beyond the Mediterranean, being established in areas extremely distant from its place of origin like South Africa, Australia, Japan or China. One can say, with Duhamel: "Where the olive-tree gives up, the Mediterranean is completed", and to add "Where the sun allows it, the olive-tree is established and gained ground".

History of Olive oil...