Page 20 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

)
—xviii—

technology, and population can be considered as independent variables in a system
that provides a view of a complex cultural organization. If we earnestly wish to
study this dependent variable, we must devote great time and energy to the study
of the independent variables as well.

The task appears overwhelming. Accurately isolating such independent
variables in an area such as the Mesopotamian Plain is at best difficult. Population
variation and technological changes have been discussed by past researchers, but
the environmental boundaries of this formative area are complex and not well
defined. In fact, our knowledge of natural environmental processes in the
Mesopotamian Plain and the surrounding region is insufficient to discuss more than
a handful of isolated micro-environments (Van Zeist and Wright 1963, Van Zeist,
Woldring, and Stapert 1975, Paepe 1971). Far greater effort and expenditure of
funds are required before one can use this model to understand the cultural changes
that influenced one of the great formative areas of civilization.
One solution appears to lie in a systematic analysis of a given region by
coordinated, multidisciplinary research that incorporates archeological excavation
and survey with natural environmental analysis. Spatial surveys of potential
subsystems within a common cultural and environmental region have been
demonstrated to be effective tools in showing possible changes in population size.
Technological change can be suggested by detailed excavation. The missing factor
is detailed geo morphological study. When linked, the composite spatial array of
subsystems furnishes a more complete knowledge of the total ecosystem including
the all important patterns of human interactions.
In this study an emphasis is placed upon understanding the natural
environmental basis for human settlement. This combines the intellectual tools of
the geological sciences with those of geography and archeology. As such, it
attempts to achieve a more balanced presentation than is generally found in
Arabian Gulf archeology.

!