Vladimir Dabrowski
My research aims to reconstruct the adaptative plant acquiring strategies set up by ancient and medieval societies to face aridity in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula using multi-disciplinary approach including wide array of botanical (seeds and fruits, charcoals, dry woods, phytoliths) and insect remains. I am particularly focused on the central role of oasian agroecosystems in interaction with environmental and trade dynamics during these historical periods and how human societies took advantage of this constraining environment (environmental and geographic advantages) to obtain various plant resources (food, fodder, fuel, textile…). The installation and the management of the resilient oasian agroecosystems and their diversification with the acclimatization of new plants (e.g. sorghum, rice, mango tree, for example) constitutes a favourite subject. I am very interested about the long-term evolution of past vegetation and the impact of climatic fluctuations and human activities on the abundance, diversity, and distribution of the natural formations. I am also particularly focused on the long-distance trade of plant products (e.g. pepper, rice, cotton, for example) in an historical and archaeological context of increasing exchanges within the Arabo-Persian Gulf and the western Indian ocean.
I am currently involved as post-doctoral researcher (2022-2023) in the ArcAgr-AU project which aims to reconstruct the emergence and evolution of the core oasis in the valley of al-Ula (Saudi Arabia) under the supervision of Louise Purdue in the UMR 7264 “Cultures et Environnements : Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-Âge”. Previously, I was involved in the Eco-Seed project (AFALULA, CNRS) aiming to focus on the agrobiodiversity and the natural ecosystem evolution of the al-Ula oasis (Saudi Arabia) with botanical remains recovered from natural and anthropogenic contexts under the supervision of Charlène Bouchaud in the UMR 7209 “Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements”. I have defended a PhD thesis entitled “Plant supplying strategies and resources management in eastern Arabia during the Classical and Islamic period: archaeobotanical and archaeo-entomological analyses” at the National Museum of Natural History (Paris, France) in February 2019 under the supervision of Margareta Tengberg (MNHN) and Jean-Pierre Van Staëvel (Paris 1). In the framework of my PhD, I have carried out several field missions and laboratory analyses on material from five archaeological sites in the Kingdom of Bahrain (Qal’at al-Bahreïn, dir: P. Lombard), the United Arab Emirates (Kush, dir. D. Kennet; Mleiha, dir: M. Mouton) and the Sultanate of Oman (Fulayj, dir: S. Priestman; Qalhât, dir: A. Rougeulle). In addition of these sites on which I am still participating, I am also working on archaeobotanical material from a wide array of Classical and medieval Islamic archaeological sites.
I am currently involved as post-doctoral researcher (2022-2023) in the ArcAgr-AU project which aims to reconstruct the emergence and evolution of the core oasis in the valley of al-Ula (Saudi Arabia) under the supervision of Louise Purdue in the UMR 7264 “Cultures et Environnements : Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-Âge”. Previously, I was involved in the Eco-Seed project (AFALULA, CNRS) aiming to focus on the agrobiodiversity and the natural ecosystem evolution of the al-Ula oasis (Saudi Arabia) with botanical remains recovered from natural and anthropogenic contexts under the supervision of Charlène Bouchaud in the UMR 7209 “Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements”. I have defended a PhD thesis entitled “Plant supplying strategies and resources management in eastern Arabia during the Classical and Islamic period: archaeobotanical and archaeo-entomological analyses” at the National Museum of Natural History (Paris, France) in February 2019 under the supervision of Margareta Tengberg (MNHN) and Jean-Pierre Van Staëvel (Paris 1). In the framework of my PhD, I have carried out several field missions and laboratory analyses on material from five archaeological sites in the Kingdom of Bahrain (Qal’at al-Bahreïn, dir: P. Lombard), the United Arab Emirates (Kush, dir. D. Kennet; Mleiha, dir: M. Mouton) and the Sultanate of Oman (Fulayj, dir: S. Priestman; Qalhât, dir: A. Rougeulle). In addition of these sites on which I am still participating, I am also working on archaeobotanical material from a wide array of Classical and medieval Islamic archaeological sites.
less
Related Authors
InterestsView All (16)
Uploads
Papers by Vladimir Dabrowski
Little archaeobotanical research has been undertaken so far in Islamic archaeology. Concerning the Arabian Peninsula, less than a dozen of sites have provided archaeobotanical material, most of them from a limited number of samples. That’s why the analysis of the samples from the domestic building B94 in Qalhât (Ash-Sharqiyah Province, Sultanate of Oman) allows increasing our knowledges available for this period. The provided data give the opportunity to rebuild through carpology (study of seeds and fruits) and anthracology (study of charcoals) some aspects of everyday life. The analysis of seeds and fruits allows defining the main components of the food plant diet (cereals, fruits…) as well as the agrarian system set up for their culture. Besides, some weeds from the cleaning of the harvests have been also identified, that could be used to shed light on some agrarian practices (water management…). Finally, the analysis of the charcoals retrieved in the fireplaces give us some indications on the woody species used as fuel within the framework of domestic activities and, consequently, on the taxonomic composition of the vegetation cover situated nearby.
These results raise issues about the food supply of the inhabitants of harbour sites along the Arabian coasts. Whereas the origin of some of them from the Indian sub-continent is not being questioned, the others species might either have been imported or resulted from local cultivation. In this matter, written sources are used in order to discuss their significance and their possible origin.
plusieurs bâtiments de fonctions variées sur le site portuaire médiéval de Qalhât en Oman (12e-16e siècles). Parmi ceux-ci une structure d’habitat (B94), en fait deux maisons accolées présentant chacune plusieurs pièces autour d’une cour, et un étage. Construit au 14e siècle sur l’arase d’un bâtiment antérieur, cet édifice fut occupé jusqu’à l’abandon de la ville dans la seconde moitié du 16e siècle. Il a livré de nombreuses traces d’activité domestiques et artisanales, essentiellement centrées sur la transformation des produits de l’agriculture, de la pêche et de l’élevage. L’analyse détaillée des restes archéobotaniques, archéozoologiques et ichtyologiques apporte des informations très intéressantes sur le quotidien des habitants de la maison, les techniques mises en œuvre et l’économie locale. Associée à l’étude du matériel et notamment des nombreuses céramiques d’importation, elle fournit un aperçu significatif de la vie d’un grand port omanais de l’époque d’Hormuz.
Qalhât was a main Omani coastal city on the Indian Ocean in the 12th to 16th century and several buildings were extensively excavated there in the course of the Qalhât Development Project (2013sq). Among them is house B94, made of two contiguous units with several rooms around a courtyard. B94 was built in the 14th century on the erased level of an earlier building, and it was occupied until the abandonment of the city in the second half of the 16th. It delivered many traces of domestic and craft activities, which are mostly related to the processing of products from agriculture and fishing. The study of archaeobotanical, archaeozoological and ichtyological material brings interesting information as to the daily life of the inhabitants, the local technics and economy of a great harbour of the Hormuz kingdom.