UNTOLD STORIES OF RURAL AGRICULTURAL ESTATES IN NORTHERN ISRAEL: INTEGRATING ANTHROPOLOGY AND HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

This article presents a mixed-methodology approach to historical research that combines oral history, anthropology, and historical geography in exploring the development of rural agricultural estates in Northern Israel during the late Ottoman and Mandate periods (1879-1948). The study uses GIS technologies, archival documents, and face-to-face interviews to identify and locate small and large rural estates previously ignored by historical researchers due to the lack of documentation. Through ethnographic material and oral histories, the article reconstructs the narrative of the rural peasantry and highlights the importance of mixed-methodology approaches in historical research. The study also addresses the potential biases and limitations of using oral histories and historical maps as sources in these types of studies. The findings reveal a previously unremarked rich mosaic of small agricultural estates and small-scale local agricultural entrepreneurship. The research methodology used in this study is a combination of standard anthropological face-to-face interviewing, conventional historical archival research, historical-geographical analysis, and the use of GIS to situate historical phenomena in their social, geographic, historical, and cartographical contexts. The article emphasizes the importance of combining the strengths of various research methodologies to uncover previously unknown information, and the need for researchers to identify and address biases in their sources.