GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES

includes present-day countries of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, plus the adjacent small countries and some former USSR provinces

areas include Anatolia, the Arabian peninsula, Persia, and the Iranian Plateau

bounded by Mediterranean Sea in west, the Arabian Sea and Red Sea in south, Black Sea in north, Pakistan/Afghanistan in east

Map of present-day countries in the Near East.

TOPOGRAPHY

fundamental dichotomy is highlands and lowlands, with highlands corresponding to mountain ranges and high-elevation plateaus and lowlands corresponding to hills and plains at low elevation

both have tectonically active areas (earthquakes especially)

Highlands (brown) and lowlands (green) in the Near East.

MOUNTAIN RANGES

two major ranges of Anatolia are Pontic and Taurus

two major ranges of Iran are Zagros and Elburz, but there are others

two major uplands are Anatolian Plateau and Iranian Plateau, both of which are ringed by mtns, dry, and at 500-1500 m elevations

traits of major ranges:  2000 m tree line, peaks over 2500 m, alluvial valleys between ranges

View of the Zagros Mountains in Iraq.

SOUTHERN HILLS AND PLAINS

topographically diverse, with hills, low mountains up to 1000 m in elevation, valleys

most bedrock is sedimentary

major features is Tigris-Euphrates river valley or Mesopotamia (Greek for "land between two rivers"):  tectonically unstable area, alluvium infilling flattened surface over folded bedrock

Levant area:  tectonically deformed and active, disjointed nature of landscape and landscape features (narrow coast, mountains, desert) inhibited political unification in prehistory so only city-states developed

Mesopotamia is shaded in yellow.

CLIMATE

regional climate is Mediterranean regime

local climate regimes influenced by several factors:  latitude, topography, landforms, flora

favorable for agriculture despite extremes

lowland climate characterized by hot summers, broad annual and diurnal temperature ranges, snow possible everywhere but Saudi Arabia, unstable rainfall amounts but most in winter

highland climate characterized by stable rainfall levels, summer crops possible

ENVIRONMENTAL ZONES

1. coastal plains - little archaeological research here

2. alluvial plains - marshy when flood, two seasons

3. piedmont - transitional zone between lowlands and highlands

4. semiarid highlands - example is the Jezireh plain, a very dry grassland

5. foothills and intermontane valleys - "hilly flanks," dry farming possible, trees gone now

6. mountain ranges - four major ranges surrounding two major plateaus

7. depressions - may be tectonic

8. deserts - in uplands and the entire Arabian peninsula

VEGETATION

very important in patterns of human population distributions

five factors affect nature of floral communities:  climate, topography, soil, phytogeographic regions where ancestors were found), human activity

current evidence indicates farming may have begun in areas where early domesticates were native, then it spread as technology developed

five vegetation zones:

  1. Mediterranean vegetation: - open woodlands

  2. steppe vegetation - savanna vegetation with shrubs and ± trees

  3. mountain vegetation - composition depends on elevation, deciduous and coniferous trees

  4. riverine vegetation - willow, palm, poplar, grasses, reeds, etc

  5. desert vegetation - sparse grasses and scrub

HUMAN IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT

longest history and best documented case of environmental degradation in world, over 10,000 years

history of intensive use and mismanagement of resources

environment today is much more hostile than was in past

most negative effects related to food production and wood resource needs for shelters and fuel

effects of food production on environment:

  1. overgrazing and poor farming practices led to soil erosion, especially widespread on slopes

  2. overgrazing and poor farming practices depleted vast grasslands

  3. extinction or serious depletion of wild game and plants, especially in foothills regions

  4. soil salinization resulting from overirrigation and inadequate drainage, especially in Sumer area
      where there is currently little to no habitation but urban centers once loomed (after 3500 BC)

Soil salinization.

SUMMARY:  POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES

POSITIVE FEATURES

1. complex waterways (water for irrigation, navigable for transportation)

2. fertile soil in prehistory so good crop production, even surpluses (if watered)

3. wild food resources in prehistory, including presence of domesticate progenitors

4. abundant farmland in early prehistory

5. productivity in prehistory was very high, was comparable to current Canadian wheat agriculture

6. abundant natural resources (often a source of wealth)

NEGATIVE FEATURES

1. low rainfall so dry agriculture not feasible in most places

2. natural resources are unevenly distributed, and there is little raw material for tools and building, so trade was very important

3. unpredictable flooding along Tigris and Euphrates, especially at critical farming times (harvest, plant)

4. temperature extremes (hot summer, cold winter)

5. became an increasingly degraded environment over time, largely due to human activities

REFERENCE

Redman, Charles L.
1978  The Rise of Civilization. W.H. Freeman, San Fransisco.

 
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