Basseri Research Paper

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Basseri of Iran Christopher Emerick ANT 101 Dr. Maul March 5, 2012 While you may not have sheep or goats, and may even find them smelly, The Basseri of southern Iran surround themselves with hundreds and if they are lucky enough, thousands. The Basseri use sheep or goats as wealth, and a show of wealth, and the more you have the wealthier you are. Generally groups or communities use money or precious metals as currency. This is not true in the tribe of the Basseri. They build up herds of animals such as sheep and goats. They then use the herds to purchase land in local villages which cannot die due to disease or nature like animals can. (Nowak & Laird, 2010) The Basseri are Pastoralists due to the fact that they are nomadic,…show more content…
Basseri live in camps of 30 to 50 tents and move every three to four days. (Nowak & Laird, 2010 6.4) “This requires great organizational skills, with the animal herder, a young boy or girl, leaving early in the morning with the herd while the adults break camp, load their possessions onto pack animals, and move to the new camp, set it up, and prepare for the herds, which will need to be milked upon their arrival (Barth, 1961).” What beliefs and values do the Basseri Have? The Basseri have a Khan or a chief. He is focused only on three things, allocating pastures, settling disputes, and dealing with foreigners. What is the economic organization of the Basseri? The form of wealth is with livestock, and how much of it they…show more content…
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