Bronze Age farmers often prioritized wine over olives
The grapes and olives have remained two of the most coherent cultures since dawn in the Middle East of Agriculture about 10,000 years ago. But when times crossed the Levant and the North of Mesopotamia, the first farmers often endeavored to maintain one of these fruity staples compared to the other. According to a study published on September 17 in the journal Plos aCultures have always assured that their wine continued to flow, even when olive oil was not.
“Various researchers have demonstrated periods of instability in the culture of olives and grapes in the eastern Mediterranean, going up at least at the start of bronze,” said the international team of scientists in their article.
Most previous studies have only concentrated on the old culture of rent in the south of the Levant, which today includes a large part of Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. For their work, the authors of the study have widened this scope to include a much larger region encompassing several different climatic zones. They then analyzed stable carbon isotopic reports for more than 1,500 charred olive (Olea Europaea) and grapes (Vitis Vinfera) wood and seed samples. These pieces of burned fruits were collected at various archaeological archaeological sites (c. BCE (c. 3,500 BCE) and 1,200 BCE (c. 1,200 BCE. From these samples, the team could estimate the availability of humidity at the time of plant growth.
They found that water stress at the start of the Bronze Age corresponded to the seasonal changes expected of the era. However, subsequent periods also included greater variability in these water levels. Meanwhile, times to increase the stress of crops are aligned with notable climate fluctuation times. The existence of large cultures of grapes and olive trees in darker regions also suggests a strong dependence on irrigation techniques.
At the average Bronze Age, evidence shows that the cultures of the region often appreciated one culture on the other. Generalized evidence of “intense irrigation”, even in the climatic areas that did not suit it, show that the grapes were the most important.
“”[It] Indicates a stronger commitment to viticulture compared to other cultures such as olives “, explains the announcement of support for the study.” This model suggests that grapes and wine were of a particular cultural and economic value, in accordance with previous archaeological research. »»
According to the team, their recent work shows that farmers in Southwest Asia made decisions based on complex strategic agricultural techniques 4000 years ago.
“It reminds us that people in the past were just as smart as people today,” they said. “Apparently modern problems such as resilience to climate change and the need to carefully allocate resources have a history.”
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