The ecological adaptation of the Lutfi herder-horticulturists of south Iran

This report describes the subsistence and settlement patterns of the Lutfi herder-horticulturists of south Iran. While specialized intensive agriculturists and nomadic pastoralists have been much studied in the Middle East, mountain dwelling populations who combine a number of extensive subsistence techniques including foraging and horticulture have not been described. These often entail, as is seen in this case, some amount of movement or nomadism. The general pattern reported here is likely to have been quite widespread in highland Iraq, Iran, and Turkey where wild stands of fruit tree were once common. (author)