Nomads/Nomadism in History

In history, nomads/nomadism have always been regarded as a by-product of the cultural evolution of sedentary farmers and as a permanent threat. They were considered primitive, backward, and incapable of improving their living situation. Only the transition to a settled life and a sedentary economy (sedentism) was considered to be a meaningful alternative. However, according to current ethno-archeological and socio-geographical research nomadism should rather be considered an independent mode of culture practised by inhabitants of the Old World dry belt. In response to ecological/natural and social/political conditions, they have developed an optimal form of safeguarding survival by using pasture animals and adopting a mobile way of life. Given the right conditions, nomadism—here termed a ‘socio-ecological mode of culture—was able to appear or disappear at any place and any time. As the article shows, this ‘appearance’ and ‘disappearance’ of the nomads runs through the entire history of the Old World dry belt. Seen in this way, nomadism as a socio-ecological mode of culture represents an independent constitutive element of society within the Old World dry belt.