The
olive (Olea europaea L.) is considered a classic Mediterranean
crop and indeed its distribution is used as an indicator of the distribution
of Mediterranean environments (Zohary and Hopf 1993:137). Archeological
evidence suggests domestication and cultivation began more than 6000 YBP
(years before present) in the eastern Mediterranean, although the collection
of wild Olea fruit appears to have begun over 10,000 YBP (Dennell
1992:82). The olive continues to be an important commercial crop throughout
the Mediterranean as well as one of the staples of many rural diets in
the area. The olive was introduced to the Caribbean and Mexico at the
end of the fifteenth century, initiating its movement into the Mediterranean
climates of the New World. By the late eighteenth century Spanish and
Italian missionaries moved north through current day Mexico into what
is now California and mission groves were established. This was only the
first wave of introductions of olive and other Old World crops into this
region of North America. Subsequent introductions occurred, leaving their
mark on the landscape, history and economy of the area.
For example, Ellwood Cooper's plantings in Santa Barbara were some of the first in this region established to grow olives commercially beginning in 1868, and trees from his grove have been dispersed locally and still persist, including on the UCSB campus. Throughout California, olive trees planted as long ago as the mid to late 1800s continue to bear fruit, some of which is commercially harvested. In addition, recently imported and planted olive trees reflect new economic, social and cultural influences.
The olive is an extremely long-lived domesticated plant species, and thus many living trees and groves have historical and personal associations in written materials and in people's memories and current practices. Because olives are easily and commonly clonally propagated, it is sometimes possible to trace distinct lineages of old trees extant today. As such, historic olive trees offer unique insights into the history of that agricultural species and the human activities related to it in Santa Barbara County over the last 130 years or more. Similarly, contemporary uses of and attitudes toward these trees reflect changing sociocultural influences and values.
This research will describe and investigate the social and biological aspects of historic Santa Barbara County olive tree diversity in time and space, as well as contribute to methodological development for spatial description and analysis of these and other living cultural and agricultural resources.
Students in Environmental Studies/Anthropology 158, "Crop Genetic Resources" taught every year at UCSB are active participants in this research project. In the first year of the project (2002) our primary focus was the olive trees on the UCSB campus and in Isla Vista, the adjoining college town. Students worked in research groups focusing on the history or morphology of these trees. A third group investigated contemporary attitudes to historic olive trees in our environment with a survey of residents of Olive Street in downtown Santa Barbara.References cited
Dennell R.W. (1992) The origins of agriculture in Europe.
Pp 71-100. In The Origins of Agriculture. An International Perspective.
C. Wesley Cowan and P.J. Watson, eds. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington,
D.C.
Zohary, D. and M. Hopf ( 1993) Domestication of Plants in the Old World.
2nd edition. Clarendon/Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK.
This work is funded in part by a grant from the Pearl Chase Fund of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
All text and images copyright Daniela Soleri 2002-2003, not for use without permission.
Base maps used for illustrations on this web site are from Rand McNally New Millenium World Atlas, 1998.