Gebirgsfamilien auf dem Balkan

This study investigates the interrelations between natural habitat, demography, socio-economic development, and household structures in the Rhodope mountains, which nowadays form a border region between Bulgaria and Greece. The period under investigation starts with the 1830s and ends with the 1930s, thus allowing to study important changes during that time. A particular focus is put on the end of Ottoman rule over the area (late 19th/early 20 centuries). The data base is made up by extensive quantitative sources (such as household listings, parish records, population censuses and other statistical material), archival documents on the political, social and economic situation in the region, contemporary ethnographic and similar descriptions, unpublished field data from Bulgarian ethnographers and own field studies (mainly in form of interviews). In terms of theory, the book is based on the one hand on discussions in mountain and ecological anthropology on the impact of nature on society, and on the other hand on family history, which during the last decade or so has been developing a growing interest for the Balkans. Based on these two approaches the book aims at comparisons with other (mountain) regions which is necessary for analysing and understanding the local context. In terms of methodology, the author declares his adherence to the paradigm of historical anthropology. One of the most important results of the investigation is that the Rhodope mountains do not fit into the pattern of large, complex households that was described as being typical for the western Balkans. But on the other hand, there are clear differences between the Muslim and the Christian populations in the region, the former living more often in complex households, the latter predominantly in nuclear ones. These differences are explained by economic factors. The Rhodopes also did not resemble the notion of isolated mountain region in the 19th century because their economy was well integrated in the Ottoman market. This high level of integration in the market, and also the state, had important consequences for the local social structures and helps to explain the divergence to mountain regions in the western Balkans.