“…Modern-day studies often see the Mediterranean basin as a single unit having specific ecological characteristics, where grapes, grains, and olives not only constitute the three core food elements of the so-called 'Mediterranean triad' dietary tradition, but also form an index of good health and longevity (Davis et al, 2015;Essid, 2012;Willet et al, 1995). This way of thinking has influenced historical research with many scholars in the field seeking similar patterns in antiquity (Erdkamp, 2005;Jasny, 1950Jasny, , 1944Jasny, , 1941Mattingly and Aldrete, 2000;Moritz, 1958). Much of the research conducted in economic geography, however, has shown that, biodiversity within the Mediterranean ecosystem has been anything but uniform throughout time and that any food culture has always been highly dependent on the local physical environment, i.e., the interplay of several geographical, environmental, and climatic factors (Mandelblatt, 2012;Simmons, 1997;Winter, 2003).…”