Technology, Tradition and Survival ─ Aspects of Material Culture in the Middle East and Central Asia

Scholars from a wide range of disciplines explore the skills in material culture in the two linked regions during the Islamic period, emphasizing the innovation and diffusion of technology in energy, architecture, navigation, and hydrology. They also review nomadic pastoralist, cultivator, and urban systems. The topics include tuberculosis and its treatment in Medieval Islam, wind and watermills in Iran and Afghanistan, and the impact of oil wealth on traditional technologies in rural Oman. The 14 studies were developed from papers and subsequent discussions at two international conferences held in London during the middle 1990s. Distributed in the US by Taylor & Francis. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)