﻿526 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  or 
  originated 
  by 
  the 
  Arabs 
  and 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  uniformly 
  spread 
  through- 
  

   out 
  the 
  region. 
  Among 
  these 
  are 
  emphasis 
  upon 
  family 
  solidarity, 
  

   exaltation 
  of 
  individual 
  prowess 
  and 
  daring, 
  group 
  consciousness 
  and 
  

   identity 
  rather 
  than 
  individualism, 
  hospitality, 
  and 
  the 
  predominance 
  

   of 
  the 
  personal 
  touch 
  in 
  all 
  types 
  of 
  human 
  relationships. 
  The 
  way 
  

   in 
  which 
  a 
  cup 
  of 
  coffee 
  is 
  prepared 
  and 
  served 
  and 
  its 
  symbolic 
  

   significance 
  are 
  practically 
  the 
  same 
  in 
  the 
  Muslim 
  villages 
  of 
  southern 
  

   Palestine 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Christian 
  villages 
  on 
  the 
  high 
  slopes 
  of 
  Lebanon. 
  

   Similarly, 
  everywhere 
  there 
  is 
  heavy 
  dependence 
  upon 
  bread 
  as 
  the 
  

   main 
  staple 
  in 
  the 
  diet 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  reverent 
  attitude 
  toward 
  it. 
  

  

  THE 
  VILLAGE 
  COMMUNITY 
  

   ORIGIN 
  AND 
  DEVELOPMENT 
  

  

  Everywhere 
  in 
  the 
  Middle 
  East, 
  whether 
  on 
  the 
  coastal 
  plains 
  or 
  

   on 
  the 
  high 
  mountain 
  slopes, 
  on 
  the 
  interior 
  plateaus 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  river 
  

   valleys, 
  the 
  village 
  type 
  of 
  rural 
  settlement 
  prevails. 
  Unlike 
  the 
  

   North 
  American 
  pattern, 
  practically 
  no 
  isolated 
  farmsteads 
  or 
  rural 
  

   neighborhoods 
  exist 
  between 
  the 
  villages. 
  Farmers 
  and 
  animals 
  live 
  

   in 
  the 
  village, 
  from 
  which 
  they 
  go 
  out 
  daily 
  to 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  surround- 
  

   ing 
  fields 
  and 
  come 
  back 
  in 
  the 
  evening. 
  The 
  origin 
  and 
  evolution 
  

   of 
  the 
  village 
  type 
  of 
  settlement 
  in 
  this, 
  the 
  oldest 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  world, 
  

   is 
  lost 
  in 
  the 
  remote 
  and 
  obscure 
  past. 
  It 
  is 
  certain 
  that 
  the 
  village 
  

   was 
  there 
  long 
  before 
  Biblical 
  times. 
  How 
  long 
  ago 
  and 
  in 
  what 
  

   manner 
  it 
  developed, 
  whether 
  directly 
  as 
  such 
  or 
  gradually 
  along 
  a 
  

   line 
  of 
  several 
  stages, 
  is 
  a 
  matter 
  that 
  is 
  still 
  open 
  for 
  speculation. 
  

   One 
  can 
  reasonably 
  conclude, 
  as 
  did 
  Professor 
  Sanderson, 
  that 
  de- 
  

   velopment 
  possibly 
  followed 
  a 
  line 
  of 
  transition 
  from 
  the 
  nomadic 
  

   tribe 
  to 
  the 
  subagricultural 
  group, 
  to 
  the 
  semipermanent 
  village, 
  to 
  

   the 
  permanent 
  village 
  settlement. 
  1 
  This 
  explanation 
  seems 
  to 
  gain 
  

   support 
  from 
  the 
  contemporary 
  existence 
  in 
  the 
  Middle 
  East 
  of 
  the 
  

   older 
  stages 
  of 
  settlement. 
  In 
  fact, 
  one 
  can 
  observe 
  the 
  process 
  of 
  

   transition 
  actually 
  taking 
  place. 
  In 
  general, 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  readily 
  seen 
  

   that 
  as 
  one 
  moves 
  from 
  the 
  coastal 
  areas 
  and 
  river 
  valleys 
  toward 
  

   the 
  interior, 
  villages 
  assume 
  less 
  and 
  less 
  of 
  a 
  permanent 
  character, 
  

   until 
  pure 
  nomadism 
  is 
  reached. 
  The 
  large 
  Bedouin 
  tribe 
  of 
  Fa'oor, 
  

   who 
  used 
  to 
  roam 
  with 
  its 
  herds 
  over 
  a 
  wide 
  area 
  along 
  the 
  borders 
  

   of 
  Syria, 
  Palestine, 
  and 
  Trans-Jordan 
  is 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  process 
  of 
  transi- 
  

   tion. 
  The 
  Emir 
  of 
  the 
  tribe 
  and 
  his 
  brothers 
  are 
  rapidly 
  developing 
  

   into 
  feudal 
  lords. 
  They 
  and 
  their 
  entourage 
  occupy 
  a 
  compound 
  of 
  

   modern 
  stone 
  buildings, 
  whereas 
  around 
  the 
  compound 
  one 
  still 
  sees 
  

   the 
  old 
  tents 
  of 
  the 
  Arab 
  nomads. 
  Some 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  tribe 
  have 
  

   begun 
  to 
  live 
  in 
  more 
  permanent 
  dwellings, 
  made 
  of 
  reed 
  cane 
  or 
  of 
  

  

  1 
  Sanderson, 
  Dwight, 
  The 
  rural 
  community, 
  chaps. 
  2 
  and 
  3. 
  Ginn 
  and 
  Company, 
  1932. 
  

  

  