Pearlfishers, townsfolk, Bedouin and Shaykhs: Economic and social relations in Islamic Al-Zubarah

TY - JOUR

T1 - Pearlfishers, townsfolk, Bedouin and Shaykhs

T2 - Economic and social relations in Islamic Al-Zubarah

AU - Richter, Tobias

AU - Wordsworth, Paul David

AU - Walmsley, Alan George

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - Two seasons of excavation at the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century settlement of al-Zuba¯rah in north-west Qatar provide an insight into the emergence and development of early modem pearl-fishing and -trading settlements in the Persian Gulf. Here we present a preliminary overview of the archaeological phases identified so far at the site, discuss characteristics of al-Zuba¯rah's urban layout, show how archaeology can contribute to the identification of social and economic differences, and further highlight the crucial role of al-Zuba¯rah's hinterland in supporting the pearl-fishing and -trading economy.

AB - Two seasons of excavation at the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century settlement of al-Zuba¯rah in north-west Qatar provide an insight into the emergence and development of early modem pearl-fishing and -trading settlements in the Persian Gulf. Here we present a preliminary overview of the archaeological phases identified so far at the site, discuss characteristics of al-Zuba¯rah's urban layout, show how archaeology can contribute to the identification of social and economic differences, and further highlight the crucial role of al-Zuba¯rah's hinterland in supporting the pearl-fishing and -trading economy.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Qatar

KW - pearl trade

KW - al-Zubarah

KW - urbanism

KW - hinterland

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0308-8421

VL - 41

SP - 317

EP - 332

JO - Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies

JF - Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies

ER -