Agricultural practices in ancient Radman and Wadi al-Jubah (Yemen).

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Ghaleb, Abdu O.

Contributor:

Leichty, Erle V., advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History, Ancient.

Agriculture.

Archaeology.

0324.

0473.

0579.

Penn dissertations--Oriental studies.

Oriental studies--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Oriental studies.

Oriental studies--Penn dissertations.

0324.

0473.

0579.

Physical Description:

548 pages

Contained In:

Dissertation Abstracts International 51-08A.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

This dissertation is a comprehensive study and analysis of agricultural and irrigation systems in two areas of Southwest Arabia with its primary goal being to determine the location, beginnings, and development of agricultural practices in ancient Radman and Wadi al-Jubah. The data for this study comes from archaeology, geomorphology, and epigraphy. In order to accomplish this goal, a team headed by the author conducted an archaeological and geomorphological survey in the wadi of al-Jubah, and in the wadis of Wa'lan, Qaniyah, al-Hadabah, Dhu Hadid, and al-Hijlah of ancient Radman. We chose those areas because of the fact that most of their sites were non-occupational and were related to ancient agricultural and irrigation systems which had hitherto not been studied at all. The time span of the study covers the period from the late 4th millennium B.C. to the early centuries of Islam, a period long enough to determine the beginnings of agriculture and to trace its development and related social and economic phenomena.

Archaeological evidence shows that agricultural practices began about 3200 B.C. in ancient Radman and Khawlan areas and developed and spread gradually over large areas of the highlands and the lowlands. The development and spread of agricultural systems are plausibly linked with population pressure and the ecological environment, as well as technological and social change.

We present hypotheses to explain the appearance of agriculture and these subsequent changes. They show that, in Radman and Wadi al-Jubah, agricultural development resulted from a demand by a growing population for food surpluses through an increase in food production. The study emphasizes that this new demographic change was accompanied by an improvement in methods of irrigation which in turn led to the transition from dry farming to seil irrigation agriculture. As the archaeological evidence shows, this transition would not have been possible for farmers without the development of significant technological knowledge. These changes and developments also led to the creation of a new political system, known as "Mukarrib" or "Kingship", wherein Saba, Ma'in, Qataban, Hadramawt, and the Himyar states came to the fore as kingdoms.

Notes:

Thesis (Ph.D. in Oriental Studies) -- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 1990.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-08, Section: A, page: 2790.

Supervisor: Erle V. Leichty.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175.

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.