Wild olives are probably native to the island of Crete, and are perhaps the longest living crop plant. Pollen records indicate that there was olive cultivation on Crete by the late Neolithic period (between c.3500BC and c.3000BC), considerably earlier than elsewhere in the Aegean. Olives appear in Linear 'A' ideograms during the Minoan Neo-palatial period (between c.1700 and c.1450BC) and in the later Mycenaean influenced Linear 'B' script. During this period wild olives were used for perfumery, and were probably an important Minoan Palace industry. During the Classical Period (c.500 to 323BC) olive oil was used both cosmetically and in food. During the Venetian period (1204 to 1669) olive trees were still widespread on Crete, although forming only a minor part of Cretan industry, the main export from Crete being wine. This ended in 1584 when wine production far outstripped demand, and the Cretan vines were all taken up and destroyed, and sugar plantations introduced to the island, worked mainly by Armenian and Russian slaves sold to Venetian shippers in the Black Sea Ports. In addition to sugar, the island also produced wheat, barley, olive oil, cheese, cotton and silk, which were either exported to a foreign power, or sent by galley to Venice. During the early 1500's olive trees were planted in rows, with hand picking, beating the tree with a long pole, or letting the ripe olives drop onto nets strewn beneath the trees, being the main methods of harvesting the crop. This secondary industry of olive oil production continued until 1709 when Europe suffered the 'killing frosts', which decimated olive production in both the more northern areas of France and Italy. The Otterman (Turkish) Occupation of Crete occurred between 1669 and 1898, and the Turks saw an opportunity to expand and bring some structure to the Cretan olive growing industry, and by 1730 Crete was exporting over 1,600 tons of olive oil per annum to Marseilles alone. Machines for crushing olives and squeezing out the oil have been used since ancient times. Olive-crushers are often mentioned in conveyances of property from 1650 onwards. In the 19C almost every village had one or more 'Oileries', using stone rollers and wooden, and later iron, screw presses. Olive tree wood is still one of Crete's main sources of firewood. Soap is made from the worst of the olive oil.