Fossil evidence indicates that the olive tree originated 20 to 40 million years ago in the Oligocene, in what is now Italy and the eastern Mediterranean basin. Olives have been used since the appearance of humans between 100,000 and 120,000 years ago. There is evidence that in Africa, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, they were used for fuel management and most probably for food consumption.
This means that the olive tree has existed for between 20 and 40 million years without being surrounded by humans, or in other words, humans have not accompanied even 1% of the life that the olive tree has experienced, and is experiencing.
The Oligocene is a period that belongs to the Paleogene that goes back to 20 and 40 million years ago. It was the time when rodents and canids emerged. It is also said that New Zealand arose during this period.
Another curious fact is that at that time the seas and oceans were populated by the megalodon, a shark-like shark with a larger wingspan and an approximate weight of 60 tons, one of the most lethal species that have sailed the seas and the planet.
