A dendrohistorical view of the rural dwelling in 19th century Palestine

Dendrohistorical research deals with the botanical analysis of timber used in construction of historic buildings. Botanical analysis of rural dwelling houses can point to the local arboreal vegetation which existed in the time of construction as well as to the economic life of the dwellers and their commercial activities. In the 19th century Palestine had no real local sources for timber. The indigenous rural inhabitants used every log and twig they could find for construction, including fruit trees. The modern farmhouses built by wealthy Middle Eastern people were constructed with Middle Eastern trees while the modern rural settlements built by Jews, Germans and Americans used European or American wood imported to Palestine for that purpose. -Authors