Synopses & Reviews
This volume examines the relationships between rural settlement processes and the spatial patterns they produce by mapping past and present patterns and tracing the historical processes which generated them. Using the historical records of Palestine (Eretz Israel), David Grossman reviews the settlement processes of bedouins (sedentarization and nomadization), Arab peasants (settlement fixation, migration, and frontier expansion of fallahin), and early Jewish settlers. Past records are traced back to the biblical period, and a survey of the literature dealing with British evidence of rural processes and settlement in medieval times is presented for comparison--sharpening Grossman's particular approach to the subject. The introduction provides a review of the literature and a discussion of the various approaches to the interpretation of rural spatial processes. It evaluates theoretical models and concludes with a simple model functioning as a hypothetical basis for the rest of the book. The following two chapters are devoted to the British colonization process, which, unlike the Palestinian one, can be traced in a fairly uninterrupted manner to its Anglo-Saxon roots. Next are chapters detailing the settlement processes and process patterns in Palestine, concluding with a reexamination of theoretical models in light of empirical evidence. Rural Process-Pattern Relationships considers subjects central to both historical geography and rural geography, representing a unique approach of interest to a wide range of scholars.
Review
. . . a thoughtful book more suited to graduate seminar than introductory classroom.Historical Geography
Review
This well-documented work is worthwhile reading for both rural and regional specialists. Grossman is to be commended for his integration of textual and field research. His 26 maps add significantly to the text, although several of the maps should have included more recognizable points of orientation. Rural Process-Pattern Relationships succeeds in identifying the formation process from dispersed settlements to nucleated villages in diverse settings and times, while at the same time acknowledging the many other complex influences at play.Professional Geographer
Synopsis
This volume examines the relationships between rural settlement processes and the spatial patterns they produce by mapping past and present patterns and tracing historical processes generating them. Using the historical records of Palestine (Eretz Israel), Grossman reviews the settlement processes of bedouins (sedentarization and nomadization), Arab peasants (settlement fixation, migration, and frontier expansion of fallahin), and early Jewish settlers. This valuable work considers subjects central to both historical geography and rural geography, representing a unique approach of interest to a wide range of scholars.
About the Author
DAVID GROSSMAN is Associate Professor of Geography at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Table of Contents
Rural Settlements--Process-Pattern Relationships
Reconstructing Rural Processes--The British Evidence
The Settlement Process and Pattern of Cheshire
The Expansion of Agricultural Settlement Frontier
In Palestine (Eretz Israel)--Processes and Patterns
The Factors Accounting for the Prevalence of Nucleation
Sedentarization and Nomadization--Factors and Characteristics
The Nomadization Process in Southern Palestine
Seasonal Settlements--Factors and Processes of Fixation
Jewish Settlement Processes and Patterns in the Palestine (Eretz Israel)
The Map of the Settlement Patterns of Palestine (Eretz Israel)
General Conclusions
Bibliography
Index