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Production of a report for Afalula (French Agency for the Development of al-Ula):
Anthropological issues of the communities of al-‘Ulā oasis: Scientific and synthesis note
Vincent Battesti
CNRS, Paris, 32 p.
May 15, 2020
[Preliminary Considerations on a Project for an Oasis Museum in al-‘Ulā]
– PDF: https://hal.science/hal-05022104
– Abstract:
This Scientific Synthesis Report is based on very preliminary research results from fieldwork conducted in the oasis of al-‘Ulā (Saudi Arabia), so far carried out exclusively by the author and hitherto only partially described. These results are, of course, far too preliminary to be disseminated as they stand. This report also draws on a much longer-standing expertise developed in other oasis contexts, particularly in the Sahara.
The following pages first offer a broad perspective on oases before situating the specific case of al-‘Ulā within this global framework. The general situation of oases can sometimes, but not always, be transposed onto the particular case of al-‘Ulā, and doing so is never certain nor always desirable. The general model should be regarded merely as a range of possibilities.
This text is intended to be as didactic as possible and only briefly touches upon issues that would require—or have already warranted elsewhere—much more substantial development (to which readers may refer; the bibliography provided is indicative only).
A final but essential point: this is a scientific report on ongoing research. Not only is it unsuitable for dissemination in its current form (work in progress), but a museum, which must present a viewpoint reflecting local realities, should also be particularly attentive to what local communities themselves wish to present, avoiding any top-down imposition (i.e., the imposition of identity assignments). This requires ethnographic fieldwork that has not yet been conducted. Some of the data presented here are sensitive, even touching on local taboos, making it particularly delicate, from many standpoints, to disseminate them without prior investigation.
