ABSTRACT
Focusing on a particular part of Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this chapter examines examples of human interaction with, and adaptation to, the environment. Whether it be food, mythology, landscape, costume, or resources, certain aspects of any unfamiliar area tend to integrate into popular culture. In the case of Arabia, it is spices, tales of Aladdin and jinn, vast deserts, a fanaticism linked with religion, and (more recently) oil which constitute current stereotypical associations. The Arabian Gulf (also known as the Persian Gulf depending on which side of the water you live) is situated in a sedimentary basin which holds roughly two-thirds of the world’s proven reserves of oil (Long 1978:1). It has been stated, for example, that without this oil ‘the Gulf would elicit little interest for any but the people who inhabit its shores’ (Long 1978:1; see also Auchterlonie 1986:54). While such generalizations are beginning to be dislodged as the tourist industry makes access to such countries increasingly easy, disciplines such as archaeology and anthropology are also contributing information about the long-term history of the region.
