History of Olive Oil The oldest data available on the olive tree are 39,000-year-old olive leaf fossils unearthed in archaeological excavations on the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Archaeological excavations in the Sahara region of North Africa have also found olive tree findings dating back to 12,000 BC. It is not known when and by which civilization the first olive harvest was made. History shows that the most obvious traces of olive oil production date back to the Cretan Civilization in the very center of the Mediterranean, around 4500 BC. The Cretans played the most important role in the spread of olive oil culture to other tribes in the Mediterranean; and for about 3000 years. The most vivid witnesses of the olive oil trade carried out by the Cretans, who had powerful trade fleets, are the 2-meter olive oil jars found among the ruins of the palaces of Knossos and Phaistos. The tablets found with these giant jars called “Pithoi” contain information about where the olive oil trade of that day was carried out and where olive oil was produced. Anatolia has always been present in olive oil culture as a geography; however, the one that is in the foreground is the opposite side of the Aegean. The reason for this is that Ancient Greece has been constantly placed at the center of olive oil culture due to the indisputable weight of Homer in Western Civilization. It is forgotten that the Hellenic Civilization encompassed not only the opposite side of the Aegean but also the geography of Anatolia. It is neglected that Miletus, Ephesus, Phocaea, Clazomenae (Urla), Erythrai, and Assos were in Anatolia.
History of Olive Oil
The oldest data available on the olive tree are 39,000-year-old olive leaf fossils unearthed in archaeological excavations on the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Archaeological excavations in the Sahara region of North Africa have also found olive tree findings dating back to 12,000 BC. It is not known when and by which civilization the first olive harvest was made.
History shows that the most obvious traces of olive oil production date back to the Cretan Civilization in the very center of the Mediterranean, around 4500 BC.
The Cretans played the most important role in the spread of olive oil culture to other tribes in the Mediterranean; and for about 3000 years. The most vivid witnesses of the olive oil trade carried out by the Cretans, who had powerful trade fleets, are the 2-meter olive oil jars found among the ruins of the palaces of Knossos and Phaistos. The tablets found with these giant jars called “Pithoi” contain information about where the olive oil trade of that day was carried out and where olive oil was produced.
Anatolia has always been present in olive oil culture as a geography; however, the one that is in the foreground is the opposite side of the Aegean. The reason for this is that Ancient Greece has been constantly placed at the center of olive oil culture due to the indisputable weight of Homer in Western Civilization. It is forgotten that the Hellenic Civilization encompassed not only the opposite side of the Aegean but also the geography of Anatolia. It is neglected that Miletus, Ephesus, Phocaea, Clazomenae (Urla), Erythrai, and Assos were in Anatolia.
A picture showing the stages of olive oil production in the 17th century. Crushing with feet and then extracting the oil with hot water was the first method used to obtain olive oil. The oldest known facility established to produce olive oil with this method was found during excavations in the ancient city of Klazomenika, located near the Urla district of Izmir, dating back to the 6th century BC. Although this method was the first method used, it was not the last. Later, the Romans discovered a method of obtaining olive oil by crushing olives between two stones. During this process, the energy required to rotate the moving stone was initially provided by humans. Later, animal power was used. As time progressed and parallel developments in science, the pressure obtained as a result of the movement of the Archimedes screw was used to compress the crushed olive paste. This is called the Vice method and is still used in some small businesses today.[2] The event that we can call a milestone in the olive oil industry can be considered the use of steam in olive oil production in the 19th century. With the introduction of this method, there has been a great increase in the amount of olives processed and subsequently the amount of oil produced. Later, hydraulic pressing, followed by diesel engines and electric motors, has led to the most modern systems used today.
A picture showing the stages of olive oil production in the 17th century.
Crushing with feet and then extracting the oil with hot water was the first method used to obtain olive oil. The oldest known facility established to produce olive oil with this method was found during excavations in the ancient city of Klazomenika, located near the Urla district of Izmir, dating back to the 6th century BC. Although this method was the first method used, it was not the last. Later, the Romans discovered a method of obtaining olive oil by crushing olives between two stones. During this process, the energy required to rotate the moving stone was initially provided by humans. Later, animal power was used. As time progressed and parallel developments in science, the pressure obtained as a result of the movement of the Archimedes screw was used to compress the crushed olive paste. This is called the Vice method and is still used in some small businesses today.[2]
The event that we can call a milestone in the olive oil industry can be considered the use of steam in olive oil production in the 19th century. With the introduction of this method, there has been a great increase in the amount of olives processed and subsequently the amount of oil produced. Later, hydraulic pressing, followed by diesel engines and electric motors, has led to the most modern systems used today.
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