al-māˀ wa-t-tawṭīn bi-l-qurà l-ǧabaliyya bi-l-ǧanūb at-tūnisī. Mulāḥaẓāt wa-ˀiḍāˀāt ḥawl qaryat as- sanad [“Water and population in the mountain villages of southern Tunisia. Comments and clarifications around the village of Sened”]

Abstract

Abstract: “Water and population in the mountain villages of southern Tunisia. Comments and clarifications around the village of Sened”. It stands to reason to link the problem of population in the mountain areas to the issue of water, because these areas, having higher rainfall averages, which allows for the practice of agriculture, are more suitable for human settlement that the plains, because of the difficult orography and the scarcity of water in the south of Tunisia. In this framework, the village of Sened represents a model of settlement in a mountain area linked to water availability. A careful research on this kind of settlements requires the use of some tools for historical research, including toponymy, field work and the study of ceramics, allowing us to compensate for the almost complete lack of documentation. This study is a true test of our general knowledge of settlement in mountain areas, as well as a proof of the importance of auxiliary tools for conducting historical research of specific issues like this one.