London, Dec 22 (IANS): Excavation experts have unearthed nearly 8,000-year-old ancient clay pots in the Lower Galilee region of northern Israel with olive oil residues in them, driving home the point that our ancestors were aware about the oil's health benefits.
The findings suggest that people first domesticated the olive tree about 8,000 to 6,000 years ago.
"This is the earliest evidence of the use of olive oil in the country and perhaps the entire Mediterranean basin," Ianir Milevski and Nimrod Getzov, excavation directors at the Israel Antiquities Authority, were quoted as saying in a LiveScience report.
The detailed analyses of 20 pottery vessels showed that the pottery containing olive oil dates back to the Early Chalcolithic period, a phase of the Bronze Age.
The olive oil was well preserved inside the vessels for almost 8,000 years, said the study that appeared in the Journal of Plant Sciences.