23 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

7,000 years ago the earliest evidence for the cultivation of a fruit tree came from the Jordan valley

Tel Aviv University and Jerusalem’s Hebrew University researchers have unraveled the earliest evidence for the domestication of a fruit tree.

According to the researchers, the first domestication of fruit trees anywhere in the world took place in the Jordan Valley about 7,000 years ago.

Analyzing remnants of charcoal from the Chalcolithic site of Tel Tsaf in the Jordan Valley, researchers determined they came from olive trees. Since olive trees did not grow naturally in the Jordan Valley, this means the inhabitants of the site must have planted the trees intentionally about 7,000 years ago, said the researchers.

The study was led by Dr. Dafna Langgut of the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology & Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The charcoal remnants were found in the archaeological excavation directed by Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

7,000 years-old microscopic remains of charred olive wood (Olea) recovered from Tel Tsaf. Photo: Dr. Dafna Langgut
7,000 years-old microscopic remains of charred olive wood (Olea) recovered from Tel Tsaf. Photo: Dr. Dafna Langgut

Dr. Dafna Langgut, head of Tel Aviv’s Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Ancient Environments, which specializes in microscopic identification of plant remains, said it was possible to identify trees by their anatomic structure even if they had been burned down to charcoal.

“Wood was the ‘plastic’ of the ancient world,” said Dr. Dafna Langgut.

“It was used for construction, for making tools and furniture, and as a source of energy. That’s why identifying tree remnants found at archaeological sites, such as charcoal from hearths, is a key to understanding what kinds of trees grew in the natural environment at the time, and when humans began to cultivate fruit trees.”

Langgut’s analysis of the charcoal from Tel Tsaf found locally native trees, but also olive and fig.

Buildings and rounded siloes at the village of Tel Tsaf. Photo: YOSEF GARFINKEL

“Olive trees grow in the wild in the land of Israel, but they do not grow in the Jordan Valley,” she said. “This means that someone brought them there intentionally — took the knowledge and the plant itself to a place that is outside of its natural habitat.”

“In archaeobotany, this is considered indisputable proof of domestication, which means that we have here the earliest evidence of the olive’s domestication anywhere in the world.”

7,000 years-old hearth remains at the village of Tel Tsaf. Photo: YOSEF GARFINKEL
7,000 years-old hearth remains at the village of Tel Tsaf. Photo: YOSEF GARFINKEL

The tree remnants examined by Dr. Langgut were collected by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University, who headed the dig at Tel Tsaf Prof. Garfinkel says that “Tel Tsaf was a large prehistoric village in the middle Jordan Valley south of Beit She’an, inhabited between 7,200 and 6,700 years ago. Large houses with courtyards were discovered at the site, each with several granaries for storing crops. Storage capacities were up to 20 times greater than any single family’s calorie consumption, so clearly these were caches for storing great wealth. The wealth of the village was manifested in the production of elaborate pottery, painted with remarkable skill. In addition, we found articles brought from afar: pottery of the Ubaid culture from Mesopotamia, obsidian from Anatolia, a copper awl from the Caucasus, and more.”

According to a joint university press release, Langgut and Garfinkel were not surprised to learn that the residents of Tel Tsaf were the first in the world to intentionally grow olive and fig trees, because growing fruit trees is a sign of wealth, and this site is known to have been exceptionally wealthy.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10743-6

Scientific Reports

Cover Photo: Ayvalik olive harvest, Türkiye.

Related Articles

A cave painting found in Egyptian Sahara depicts a nativity scene 3,000 years before Jesus’ Birth

21 December 2023

21 December 2023

5,000-year-old rock art depicting the oldest nativity scene ever found has been found in Egypt’s Sahara Desert: A newborn between...

Study Reveals Mysterious Avars Origin

1 April 2022

1 April 2022

Ruled much of Central and Eastern Europe for 250 years, the Avars were less well known than Attila’s Huns, but...

In Parion, one of the most important cities of the Troas region, 2,000-year-old mother-child graves were unearthed

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Parion, the most important harbor city in the Hellenistic era, have uncovered  2,000-year-old...

In the 1,900-year-old underground temple of Mithras religion in Zerzevan Castle, an area where participants of secret rituals stayed was unearthed

23 July 2024

23 July 2024

Excavations at the  Zerzevan Castle in Diyarbakır province in the southeastern part of Türkiye have uncovered an area where participants...

Turkish researchers to work in Mount Ağrı believed to host Noah’s Ark remains

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) has started in the area where the...

A new study provides evidence that modern humans, coexisted in the same region with Neanderthals for thousands of years

11 February 2024

11 February 2024

A genetic analysis of bone fragments excavated from an archaeological site in Ranis, Germany provides conclusive evidence that modern humans...

Over 7,000-Year-Old Traces of Life Discovered in Ratina Cave on Šćedro Island, Croatia

28 February 2025

28 February 2025

Recent archaeological excavations on Šćedro Island, located south of Hvar, have unveiled significant findings that challenge previous understandings of the...

A cemetery belonging to 54 children was found during the excavation in the old quarry in Diyarbakır, Türkiye

4 January 2024

4 January 2024

During the archaeological excavation carried out in the area considered to be an old quarry in the Kulp district of...

Scientists reconstruct Late Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean silver trade

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Scientists have recreated the Eastern Mediterranean silver trade across a time span that includes the conventional dates of the Trojan...

Archaeologists Find 11 Sealed Middle Kingdom Burials Full of Jewelry in Luxor, Egypt

4 November 2024

4 November 2024

The South Asasif Conservation Project, an Egyptian-American mission working under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, has...

A 5,000-year-old large house has been discovered in China’s Yangshao Village

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology archaeologists have excavated the ruins of house foundations dating back more than...

A Lynx Buried with Four Big Dogs in an Ancient Roman Well in Hungary

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of an adult male lynx accompanied by four big dogs in a Roman-era pit in...

Over 70 Archaeological Sites Identified in Canada’s Chilcotin Region, Uncovering Secwépemc Pit Houses Over 4,000 Years Old

29 March 2025

29 March 2025

Recent archaeological findings indicate that the Secwépemc people’s historical presence in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia, Canada, is more...

Stone Age Architectural Marvel Unveiled Deep in the Baltic Sea: It may be one of the largest known Stone Age structures in Europe

13 February 2024

13 February 2024

Hiding deep beneath the Baltic Sea, an architectural wonder of the Stone Age has been discovered by researchers. This megastructure,...

2,700-year-old Unique Rock Tombs Disappear

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

The 2,700-year-old rock tombs, unique in Turkey, in the Taşköprü district of Kastamonu are in danger of extinction due to...