Jordan's Mission to Save Its Ancient Olive Trees

"These trees represent the history of Jordan," says Ali Salih Atta, 84. Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP
"These trees represent the history of Jordan," says Ali Salih Atta, 84. Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP
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Jordan's Mission to Save Its Ancient Olive Trees

"These trees represent the history of Jordan," says Ali Salih Atta, 84. Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP
"These trees represent the history of Jordan," says Ali Salih Atta, 84. Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP

Every morning, Jordanian farmer Ali Saleh Atta swallows two cloves of garlic with a cup of olive oil before heading out to check on his ancient olive trees.
"These trees represent the history of Jordan," said the 84-year-old, looking at the 2,000-year-old trees whose enormous gnarled trunks hoist up branches with delicate, pale green leaves.
The trees are a beloved national symbol, but they are also under threat from urban sprawl, illegal logging for firewood and uprooting to the homes and gardens of the wealthy for decoration.
The land of Atta, a father of 10, is in Al-Hashimiyya, a wooded area about 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Amman.
"I have given my children and grandchildren a written will that after my death, you preserve them and (live) from what they produce," he said.
Jordan is the tenth-largest producer of olives globally, according to the World Olive Council.
Its many ancient trees that have survived thousands of years are an integral part of the country's identity and culture.
Across many regions, "you can hardly visit a house ... without finding an olive tree in every garden", said Nizar Haddad, director general of the National Agricultural Research Center.
"We were raised from childhood on this culture."
But today, he said, the trees' beauty has put them in danger.
"Some hotels, villas, businessmen and companies like to add a touch to their institutions' decoration, so they buy such trees and transport them" away, he said.
The trees often do not survive the move, said Haddad, adding that new laws aim to protect them.
"New Jordanian legislation protects these trees from being uprooted or removed, and there is coordination between the Ministry of Interior, our center and the police to prevent transport operations except in very exceptional cases."
'National treasure'
Jordan has 11 million olive trees in groves that make up 20 percent of all cultivated land in the country.
They produce 50,000 tons of olives and 25,000 tons of olive oil annually, contributing 120 million Jordanian dinars ($169 million) to the economy.
Haddad noted that the olive tree has symbolic meaning for both Muslim and Christian Jordanians, saying they are mentioned in the Koran and "Jesus Christ spent his last hours praying on the Mount of Olives".
"These trees must be preserved so that they can remain a source of inspiration for the community, especially since they are the type capable of adapting to all the environmental challenges facing not only our region, but the world."
The tree variety, commonly known as Roman or Mehras, should be preserved as a "national treasure", said Amer Gharaibeh, head of the Mehras Cooperative Society.
"Here you can see the oldest olive trees... they have been here since the Romans ruled this region, before Muslims controlled it," he said.
Research has shown that the Mehras has a common ancestor with cultivated olives in Italy, Cyprus and Spain.
Alongside Jordan's culture ministry, Gharaibeh's organization is working to add the trees to the UNESCO Intangible World Heritage List, hoping this "will ultimately contribute to preserving them and protecting them".
Jordan is working on a plan to engage the public with the trees by placing a QR code on every bottle of olive oil produced.
It lists the tree's location, the name of its owner, its history, the quality of the oil and the age of the tree, said Haddad, whose organization is working on the project.
"We will not only sell olive oil," he said, "but we spread a relevant story through which we can fully market our country".



Ancient DNA Shows Genetic Link Between Egypt and Mesopotamia

This photo provided by researchers shows rock-cut tombs in Nuwayrat, Egypt where a pottery vessel in which the remains of a man, radiocarbon dated to around 2855–2570 cal BCE, was discovered. (John Garstang, Mahmoud Abd El Gelel/Garstang Museum of Archaeology/University of Liverpool via AP)
This photo provided by researchers shows rock-cut tombs in Nuwayrat, Egypt where a pottery vessel in which the remains of a man, radiocarbon dated to around 2855–2570 cal BCE, was discovered. (John Garstang, Mahmoud Abd El Gelel/Garstang Museum of Archaeology/University of Liverpool via AP)
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Ancient DNA Shows Genetic Link Between Egypt and Mesopotamia

This photo provided by researchers shows rock-cut tombs in Nuwayrat, Egypt where a pottery vessel in which the remains of a man, radiocarbon dated to around 2855–2570 cal BCE, was discovered. (John Garstang, Mahmoud Abd El Gelel/Garstang Museum of Archaeology/University of Liverpool via AP)
This photo provided by researchers shows rock-cut tombs in Nuwayrat, Egypt where a pottery vessel in which the remains of a man, radiocarbon dated to around 2855–2570 cal BCE, was discovered. (John Garstang, Mahmoud Abd El Gelel/Garstang Museum of Archaeology/University of Liverpool via AP)

Ancient DNA has revealed a genetic link between the cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Researchers sequenced whole genomes from the teeth of a remarkably well-preserved skeleton found in a sealed funeral pot in an Egyptian tomb site dating to between 4,495 and 4,880 years ago.

Four-fifths of the genome showed links to North Africa and the region around Egypt. But a fifth of the genome showed links to the area in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, known as the Fertile Crescent, where Mesopotamian civilization flourished.

"The finding is highly significant" because it "is the first direct evidence of what has been hinted at" in prior work," said Daniel Antoine, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum.

Earlier archeological evidence has shown trade links between Egypt and Mesopotamia, as well as similarities in pottery-making techniques and pictorial writing systems. While resemblances in dental structures suggested possible ancestral links, the new study clarifies the genetic ties.

The Nile River is "likely to have acted as an ancient superhighway, facilitating the movement of not only cultures and ideas, but people," said Antoine, who was not involved in the study.

The skeleton was found in an Egyptian tomb complex at the archaeological site of Nuwayrat, inside a chamber carved out from a rocky hillside. An analysis of wear and tear on the skeleton - and the presence of arthritis in specific joints - indicates the man was likely in his 60s and may have worked as a potter, said co-author and bioarchaeologist Joel Irish of Liverpool John Moores University.

The man lived just before or near the start of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified as one state, leading to a period of relative political stability and cultural innovation, including the construction of the Giza pyramids.

"This is the time that centralized power allowed the formation of ancient Egypt as we know it," said co-author Linus Girdland-Flink, a paleogeneticist at the University of Aberdeen.

At approximately the same time, Sumerian city-states took root in Mesopotamia and cuneiform emerged as a writing system.

Researchers said analysis of other ancient DNA samples is needed to obtain a clearer picture of the extent and timing of movements between the two cultural centers.