Abstract
Bedouin of the Middle East have been considered to subsist exclusively as nomadic herders. A regional approach to the subsistence economy of Bedouin considers their articulation with agricultural systems. The economy of Jebaliyah Bedouin of the southern Sinai is unusual in that they directly practice both herding and orchard agriculture. A survey of historical records and contemporary data explicates the thesis that Jebaliyah Bedouin were not and are not an isolated and economically autonomous group.
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This study was conducted at “Tzukei David,” a field study center in southern Sinai, and was funded by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (S.P.N.I.) and the Israel Ministry of Education. I thank Emanuel Marx for his advice and encouragement during the field work and the writing, and for the important comments on the first drafts. I am also grateful to A. Hefez, S. Katz, T. Love, B. Orlove, and B. Pinshow for their valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.
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Perevolotsky, A. Orchard agriculture in the high mountain region of Southern Sinai. Hum Ecol 9, 331–357 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00890741
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00890741