DEB | The University of Tuscia leads an international study revealing the origins of the olive grove landscape in the central Mediterranean

Traces of the earliest olive grove landscapes in the Mediterranean found in Sicily 3,700 years ago

The olive tree is one of the most iconic plants of the Mediterranean basin, deeply intertwined with the history, economy, and culture of the peoples who have inhabited the region over the past millennia. But how did this tree, one of many wild species native to the Mediterranean, become a universal symbol of the landscape and cultures of the region?

A recent study coordinated by the Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences (DEB) at the University of Tuscia, in collaboration with the University of Pisa, Sapienza University of Rome, the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, and the University of Nevada, sheds light on the extraordinary journey of the olive tree over the past 3,700 years in southern Italy. Published in Quaternary Science Reviews, the study reveals that interest in the olive tree had already developed among the indigenous populations of eastern Sicily as early as the 18th century BCE—centuries earlier than previously believed.

By analyzing sediment samples from Pantano Grande in Messina—one of the two brackish lakes in the Ganzirri district—researchers uncovered numerous fossil pollen remains that allowed them to reconstruct land use and natural resource practices of the peoples who occupied the area over the past 4,000 years.

The results show that olive trees were already being utilized during the Early to Middle Bronze Age. Ancient Sicilian cultures such as those of Castelluccio and Thapsos likely played an active role in the propagation of the olive tree, which was used not only for oil extraction but also as firewood and animal fodder.

“One of the key aspects of the study is the link between human activity and the expansion of the olive tree—initially wild, and later cultivated—over the past four millennia,” explains Jordan Palli, researcher in Ecology and Paleoecology at the University of Tuscia and lead author of the study. “The history of the olive in Sicily does not follow a simple path of continuous expansion but instead reflects a complex pattern influenced by social, economic, and environmental changes, where human interests have played a central role since ancient times.”

In fact, after a flourishing period lasting about five centuries, a massive eruption of Mount Etna—whose ashes have been found as far as Albania—coupled with the collapse of Aegean trade networks and various sociopolitical upheavals in the region, led to the collapse of the olive-based agricultural system, which nearly disappeared from the landscape. Olive cultivation would later return during the Roman period and again in modern times, eventually becoming a widespread agricultural system with a distinctive landscape character.

Today, the Mediterranean olive grove landscape is recognized as an international biocultural heritage. “This research highlights the strategic importance of historic olive groves in the ecological transition, where ancient trees serve as true hubs of biodiversity and sustainability,” adds Gianluca Piovesan, professor of Dendroecology at the University of Tuscia. “Protecting these ancient olive groves serves a dual purpose: safeguarding a historical and cultural asset that defines the Mediterranean landscape, and preserving a unique resource of centuries-old trees, whose management by the indigenous peoples of southern Italy predates even the era of Magna Graecia.”

The story of the olive tree is a testament to the ancient and enduring relationship between humans and nature, and demonstrates how our choices can shape natural ecosystems for thousands of years.

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