Wine was more valuable than olive oil, economically and culturally, 10,000 years ago.
During the Bronze Age, farmers of the Middle East often gave priority to the cultivation of the vineyard over the olive tree, especially in periods of greater climate instability. Although both cultures have been cultivated about 10,000 years ago and represent two pillars of agriculture in the region, a new investigation, on September 17 in PLOS One magazine, shows that Wine was considered more valuable than olive oil.
The international team of scientists analyzed more than 1,500 carbonized wood and olive seed samples (Olea europaea) and vine (Vine vinifera), collected at various archaeological sites dating from the initial bronze age (c. 3,500 BC) and the Iron Age (c. 1,200 BC) in areas that cover up and northern Mesopotamia – currently parts of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
Through carbon isotope analysis, researchers were able to estimate water availability during plant growth and relate this data to the weather conditions of the time, notice the authors with.
The results showed that while olive trees were more vulnerable to periods of drought and instability, the vineyards remained cultivated, even in adverse conditions. Over time, namely from the age of the middle bronze, the use of techniques of intensive irrigation “Even in naturally arid zones,” a sign of “strong commitment” to viticulture became evident, the authors write.
According to the authors, the preference reveals that Wine had a higher economic and cultural value than olive oil. It was regarded as a good of prestige that justified greater investment of resources and labor. The choice of continuing to produce wine in water scarcity contexts also suggests that societies of the time already made complex and strategic agricultural decisions.
The investigation, the authors, “reminds us that people in the past were as intelligent as today’s people. Apparently modern issues, such as resilience to climate change and the need to carefully allocate resources, have a long history.”
