Cloze Test Sorusu #8922

The olive tree has been an enduring symbol of Mediterranean culture for millennia. Archaeological excavations indicate that wild olives were gathered by Neolithic foragers as early as the 8th millennium BCE. However, systematic cultivation began around 4000 BCE in the Levant, where domesticated strains were propagated through grafting. Olive oil soon became an indispensable commodity, used not only for cooking but also for lighting lamps and medicinal ointments. Throughout antiquity, olive groves were considered so sacred that chopping down a bearing tree was punishable by exile or execution. Today, Mediterranean nations continue to dominate global production, preserving ancient farming traditions alongside modern industrial harvesting methods.