A Whole New World

A Spanish olive oil jar. Illustration by Eva Vazquez.

Many things that we use in our homes today have their origins in the Old World. When Spanish explorers and colonists came to the New World, they brought many things from their homes, and ways of using those things. For example, one item brought over by the Spanish during the 16th century might be very familiar to you: olive oil.

Olive oil is an important ingredient in Latino cooking today, but all of our olive oil continues to come from the Old World – Spain and other countries around the Mediterranean Ocean. The sea routes made it easy to bring olive oil to Spanish colonies in the New World.

Olive jar fragment found at Castillo De San Marcos National Monument. NPS photo.

Olive oil jars are found in archeological sites of very old Spanish settlements. Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is one of the very first Spanish colonial settlements. Look at the picture to see how archeologists usually find olive jars – in pieces!

On rare and special occasions, archeologists find whole olive jars. Watch a video of conservators and archeologists opening up an 18th-century olive jar found at Cape Lookout National Seashore.

Olive oil, one many goods brought over from Spain, is an ingredient used by many today. Think of a time your parents used olive oil in a dish. What did they make?