List Books » Technology, Tradition and Survival: Aspects of Material Culture in the Middle East and Central Asia
Authors: Richard Tapper, Keith McLachlan
ISBN-13: 9780714644875, ISBN-10: 0714644870
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Date Published: January 2002
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Seeking to promote a wider knowledge of traditional technologies in the Middle East and Central Asia, the contributors address three related themes: the history, originality, variety and sophistication of traditional science, technology and material culture in these regions; their influence on the history of Europe and the West; and the threat posed by modern Western technologies to the survival of traditional technologies which have continuing value according to turn-of-the -millennium standards of sustainability and appropriateness to local cultural, social and ecological conditions. There is a clear need for conservation of some artefacts that are under current threat of extinction.
Individual chapters focus on specific aspects of technology and material culture: science and medicine; water technologies; vernacular architecture, both fixed buildings and the mobile tents of nomads; looms and weaving; and the structure of bazaars.
List of Figures | ||
List of Plates | ||
Contributors | ||
Preface | ||
Acknowledgements | ||
Map | ||
Introduction | 1 | |
1 | Arab and Islamic Contributions to European Civilization | 25 |
2 | TB and its Treatment in Medieval Islam | 36 |
3 | Al-Tibb al-Nabawi: The Prophet's Medicine | 51 |
4 | Early Arabic Cuisine: the Evidence from Medieval Arabic Medical Texts | 64 |
5 | Science and Technology in Islamic Building Construction | 73 |
6 | Wind and Watermills in Iran and Afghanistan | 91 |
7 | Pigeon Towers and Ice-Houses on the Iranian Plateau | 115 |
8 | Sustainable Buildings: Middle Eastern Traditional Systems for the Future | 132 |
9 | From the Rashidiya to the Ordos: In search of Early Mongol Tents | 148 |
10 | Material Culture of Pastoral Nomads: Reflections Based on Arab and Afghan Materials | 172 |
11 | Looms, Carpets and Talims | 217 |
12 | The Survival of the Bazaar Economy in Iran and the Contemporary Middle East | 205 |
13 | The Political Significance of the Bazaar in Iran | 217 |
14 | The Impact of Oil Wealth on Traditional Technologies in Rural Oman | 242 |
Index | 253 |