CRACKING THE HISTORY OF THE OLIVE: DIFFERENTIATING OLIVE OIL AND OTHER MEDITERRANEAN PLANT OILS THROUGH ORGANIC RESIDUE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The possibility of differentiating olive oil from other plant oils in archaeological residues based on fatty acid profiles is assessed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and statistical analysis. First, an artificial aging experiment was undertaken in order to model chemical alterations of fatty acids present in Cypriot olive oil. Fatty acid ratios were identified that may be used for differentiating olive oil from other oils, which were then applied to a reference database of 14 additional plants known in Cyprus. These results were then applied to a dataset of 68 ancient pottery samples from Bronze Age Cyprus. The outcome indicated that if a pottery vessel contained only olive oil, it may be distinguishable from other organic residues. Larger implications of documenting the role of the olive in historical investigations of Mediterranean foodways are also discussed.