Stratégies d'acquisition de l'eau et société au Moyen-Orient depuis l'Antiquité

Description

The search for water is essential to societies living in arid or semi-arid environments. Every time man tried to control his food production, he had to build up his own agricultural territory. The adoption or the discovery of a technique for water supply has always brought about the development of new survival strategies. Successive hydraulic installations have thus become part of the landscape. This is shown in the different contributions on water strategies put together in this publication, where it is also confirmed that large networks could have been created by communities or family groups. The water supply networks outline the social geography of those that installed them. Their management is an important factor for the cohesion and social structure of the communities, a prestige factor to individuals wishing to assert themselves, and sometimes even a tool for power. The strategies for the acquisition of water appear as so many factors of complexity and hierarchy that can change the ways of life and overturn the structures of the society. La quête de l’eau constitue un élément central de la vie des sociétés en milieu aride ou semi-aride. Pour maîtriser la production de ses aliments, l’homme a dû construire son terroir. L’adoption ou la découverte d’une technique d’acquisition de l’eau a chaque fois favorisé le développement de nouvelles stratégies de subsistance. Les aménagements hydrauliques se sont ainsi inscrits successivement dans le paysage. C’est ce que révèlent les différentes contributions réunies dans ce volume autour du thème de l’eau, tout en confirmant que bien des systèmes de grande ampleur ont été conçus par des communautés ou des groupes familiaux. Les réseaux de l’eau tracent de manière indiscutable la géographie sociale de ceux qui les ont mis en place. Leur gestion est un facteur de cohésion et de structuration sociale, un facteur de prestige aussi pour des personnages soucieux de s’affirmer, et parfois un moyen de contrôle et de domination pour le pouvoir. Les stratégies d’acquisition de l’eau nous apparaissent comme autant de facteurs de complexité et de hiérarchisation, qui peuvent changer les modes de vie et bouleverser les structures de la société.

Description

"The search for water is essential to societies living in arid or semi-arid environments. Every time man tried to control his food production, he had to build up his own agricultural territory. The adoption or the discovery of a technique for water supply has always brought about the development of new survival strategies. Successive hydraulic installations have thus become part of the landscape. This is shown in the different contributions on water strategies put together in this publication, where it is also confirmed that large networks could have been created by communities or family groups. The water supply networks outline the social geography of those that installed them. Their management is an important factor for the cohesion and social structure of the communities, a prestige factor to individuals wishing to assert themselves, and sometimes even a tool for power. The strategies for the acquisition of water appear as so many factors of complexity and hierarchy that can change the ways of life and overturn the structures of the society."--Publisher's website.

Subjects

Links

• http://www.ifporient.org/node/587