(Portugal, Spain) Tyrrhenian–Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests (Croatia, France, Italy, Malta) . History Neanderthals inhabited western Asia and the non-glaciated portions of Europe starting about 230,000 years ago. Modern humans moved into western Asia from Africa less than 100,000 years ago. Modern humans, known as Cro-Magnons, moved into Europe approximately 50–40,000 years ago. The most recent glacial period, the Wisconsin glaciation, reached its maximum extent approximately 21,000 years ago, and ended approximately 12,000 years ago. A warm period, known as the Holocene climatic optimum, followed the ice age. Food crops, including wheat, chickpeas, and olives, along with sheep and goats, were domesticated in the eastern Mediterranean in the 9th millennium BCE, which allowed for the establishment of agricultural settlements. Near Eastern crops spread to southeastern Europe in the 7th millennium BCE. Poppy and oats were domesticated in Europe from the 6th to the 3rd millennium BCE. Agricultural settlements spread around the Mediterranean Basin. Megaliths were constructed in Europe from 4500 – 1500 BCE. A strengthening of the summer monsoon 9000–7000 years ago increased rainfall across the Sahara, which became a grassland, with lakes, rivers, and wetlands. After a period of climatic instability, the Sahara settled into a desert state by the 4th millennium BCE. Historiography One of the earliest modern studies of the Mediterranean was Fernand Braudel's La Méditerranéee et le monde méditerranéen à l époque de Philippe II (The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II), published in 1949. S.D. Goitein's multivolume study of the Cairo Geniza documents was another important contribution in the area of Mediterranean Jewish culture. Agriculture Wheat is the dominant grain grown around the Mediterranean Basin. Pulses and vegetables are also grown. The characteristic tree crop is the olive. Figs are another important fruit tree, and citrus, especially lemons, are grown where irrigation is present. Grapes are an important vine crop, grown for fruit and to make wine. Rice and summer vegetables are grown in irrigated areas. See also Ancient Egypt Ancient Greece Life zones of the Mediterranean region Mediterranean wine climate MISTRALS Ottoman Empire Phoenicia Roman Empire Zanclean flood References Further reading Borutta, Manuel, Mediterraneum, EGO - European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2021, retrieved: March 8, 2021. External links Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot (Conservation International) Are wildfires a disaster in the Mediterranean basin? – A review MedTrees: Trees and large shrubs of the Mediterranean Basin. Mediterranean forests,