Veget Hist Archaeobot (2005) 14: 551–561 DOI 10.1007/s00334-005-0012-z ORIGINAL ARTICLE Maria Oliva Rodr´ ıguez-Ariza · Eva Montes Moya On the origin and domestication of Olea europaea L. (olive) in Andaluc´ ıa, Spain, based on the biogeographical distribution of its finds Received: 5 October 2004 / Accepted: 7 July 2005 / Published online: 5 November 2005 C  Springer-Verlag 2005 Abstract The remains of Olea europaea in archaeological contexts in the southern Iberian Peninsula have been found in the Epipalaeolithic levels of Cueva de Nerja (10860±160 b.p.). The abundant appearance of charcoal and some seed remains from the Copper Age (3rd millennium b.c.) in the coastal zones of the southeast indicate that this species formed part of the vegetation of the Thermo-mediterranean zone and that its fruits were collected during these periods. However, Olea did not appear in the Meso-mediterranean zone until the Roman period, when olive cultivation was introduced there. The presence of charcoal and olive stones from the 1st century a.d. onwards is abundant, together with remains of structures for oil pressing. Keywords Charcoal . Seeds . Andaluc´ ıa . Olea cultivation . Prehistory . Roman Period Introduction In recent years there has been an increasing amount of archaeobotanical research, primarily in the Mediterranean, on Olea europaea L. (olive). These works have a dual objective, on the one hand to determine the chronology of its appearance and introduction into different zones of the Mediterranean (Bux´ o 1997; Blitzer 1991; Frankel 2003; Leveau et al. 1991; Liphschitz et al. 1991; Neef 1990; Runnels and Hansen 1986; Zohary and Hopf 1993), and on the other hand, to determine reliable parameters for differentiating the wild olive from the domesticated one (Liphschitz and Bonani 2000; Terral 1996, 1997, 2000; Terral and Arnold-Simard 1996; Terral et al. 2004). The inability to make a clear and easy distinction of domesticated and wild olive from the macrofossils, either M. O. Rodr´ ıguez-Ariza () · E. M. Moya Centro Andaluz de Arqueolog´ ıa Ib´ erica, Edif. B-1, Universidad de Ja´ en, E-23071 Ja´ en, Spain e-mail: moliva@ujaen.es e-mail: evamontesmoya@hotmail.com of charcoal or endocarp (fruitstone), has given rise to a growing interest in finding scientific parameters that help identify the macroremains in order to determine the origin and domestication process of the olive. Given the cultural importance and archaeological inter- est of olive cultivation in the Mediterranean, particularly in Andaluc´ ıa and more specifically the province of Ja´ en, Spain, we approach the topic from a double perspective: – the biogeographical study of plant macrofossils – the morphometric study of the olive stones In this work, we present the results of the first line of research, consisting of a bibliographic review (Table 1) together with the biogeographical as well as chronological placement of charcoal and seed studies made in Andaluc´ ıa. Methods Concerning charcoal, the proportions of the fragments anal- ysed were compared for each level, period or structure. In charcoal studies (anthracology), the minimum number of charcoal pieces analysed depends on the diversity of the kind of vegetation under analysis. In Andaluc´ ıa, in general, this ranges from 150–500 fragments in each archaeological level. In contrast, in most of the papers no raw data of numbers of seed remains are given, so we are concerned only with the presence or absence of Olea stones. The nomenclature of the scientific plant names follows that of Flora Europaea (Tutin et al. 1964–1980). Results Current distribution of Olea europaea var. sylvestris (wild olive) in the Iberian Peninsula The wild olive is a shrubby tree that grows in various types of vegetation (formations) in the series of climatic and vegetational zones differentiated by altitude and