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The Sinai Peninsula is a vital part of the Arab Republic of Egypt, geographically and historically. Its uniqueness and diversity of nature are reflected in its place-names, including both physical and human (cultural) features. The objectives of this study are to: (1) construct a digital geo-database of place-names; (2) classify the collected names...
Context in source publication
Citations
... The location of the place names (toponyms) of the collection sites mentioned in the literature or on the labels often proved to be difficult. In general, this is reflected in the fact that 22.4% of the toponyms in the Sinai have unknown meaning (Zeini et al. 2018). The mono-and multi-meaning names contribute by 64.1% and 13.5%, respectively. ...
... Analyzing the toponyms (Fig. 5) shows a high frequency of names referring to terrain. Zeini et al. (2018) [ 91 ] study in Sinai (Egypt) classi ed 69.9% of their recorded place names as referring to landforms followed by names that referred to water. Human place names are typically metaphorical, alluding to a resemblance between some physical feature of a site and shape of the organ after which it is named [ 13 ]. ...
Background
In this study, we present and analyze toponyms referring to Socotra Island’s endemic dragon’s blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) in four areas of the Socotra Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage site (Republic of Yemen). The motivation is understanding of the past distribution of D. cinnabari trees which is an important part of conservation efforts by using ethnobotanical data. We assumed that dragon’s blood trees had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past.
Methods
This research was based on field surveys and interviews with the indigenous people. The place names (toponyms) were recorded in both, Arabic and indigenous Socotri language. We grouped all toponyms into five different categories according to the main descriptor: Terrain, Human, Plant, Water and NA (unknown). In addition, this study identified current and historical Arabic names of dragon’s blood trees of the genus Dracaena, through literature review.
Results
A total of 301 toponyms were recorded from the four study areas in Socotra Island. Among names related to plants, we could attribute toponyms to nine different plant species, of which six names referred to the D. cinnabari tree, representing 14.63% of total phytotoponyms in the category. Three historical naming periods prior to 2000 could be identified. The most commonly used Arabic name for dragon’s blood trees (D. cinnabari, D. serrulata. D. ombet) appears to be “ahrieb” "إعريهب", its resin “dum al-akhawin” “دم الأخوين”, while derived (mixed-cooked) products are called “edah” “إيدع”; while regionally different names can be found.
Conclusion
The place names that refer to D. cinnabari are herein suggested to represent remnant areas of once large populations. The toponyms may therefore support known hypotheses based on climate models that D. cinnabari had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past. This study also confirmed the historical importance of dragon’s blood
... With the assistance of a geographical information system (GIS), researchers can attempt to visualize the spatial characteristics of toponyms while mining them for geographic information via spatial analysis [17][18][19]. An examination of the distribution patterns of regional toponyms suggested that place names are relevant to various types of geographical information and human activities [20][21][22][23][24]. Toponymy has also been applied to the field of biology; for example, John J. Cox and his colleagues assessed the biogeographic indexes of faunal place names in the United States, the results of which indicated that the spatial patterns of toponyms are indicators of a species' historical distribution [25]. ...
... Exploring the spatial patterns of place names could provide valuable information on the historical dynamics of landscapes [22,24]. Unfortunately, their applications in the fields of geography and historical landscape reconstruction remain scarce. ...
As an important data source for historical geography research, toponyms reflect the human activities and natural landscapes within a certain area and time period. In this paper, a novel quantitative method of reconstructing historical river networks using toponyms with the characteristics of water and direction is proposed. It is suitable for the study area which possesses rich water resources. To reconstruct the historical shape of the river network, (1) water-related toponyms and direction-related toponyms are extracted as two datasets based on the key words in each village toponym; (2) the feasibility of the river network reconstruction based on these toponyms is validated via a quantitative analysis, according to the spatial distributions of toponyms and rivers; (3) the reconstructed historical shape of the river network can be obtained via qualitative knowledge and geometrical analysis; and (4) the reconstructed rivers are visualized to display their general historical trends and shapes. The results of this paper demonstrate the global correlation and local differences between the toponyms and the river network. The historical river dynamics are revealed and can be proven by ancient maps and local chronicles. The proposed method provides a novel way to reconstruct historical river network shapes using toponym datasets.
Background
In this study, we present and analyze toponyms referring to Socotra Island’s endemic dragon’s blood tree ( Dracaena cinnabari ) in four areas on the Socotra Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage site (Republic of Yemen). The motivation is the understanding of the past distribution of D. cinnabari trees which is an important part of conservation efforts by using ethnobotanical data. We assumed that dragon’s blood trees had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past.
Methods
This research was based on field surveys and interviews with the indigenous people. The place names (toponyms) were recorded in both Arabic and the indigenous Socotri language. We grouped all toponyms into five different categories according to the main descriptor: terrain, human, plant, water, and NA (unknown). Also, this study identified current and historical Arabic names of dragon’s blood trees of the genus Dracaena through literature review.
Results
A total of 301 toponyms were recorded from the four study areas in Socotra Island. Among names related to plants, we could attribute toponyms to nine different plants species, of which six toponyms referred to the D. cinnabari tree, representing 14.63% of the total phytotoponyms in the category. Three historical naming periods prior to 2000 could be identified. The most commonly used name for dragon’s blood trees ( D. cinnabari , D. serrulata , D. ombet ) appears to be “ ahrieb ” “إعريهب” and its resin “ dum al-akhawin ” “دم الأخوين,” while derived (mixed-cooked) products are called “ eda’a ” “إيدع,” while regionally different names can be found.
Conclusion
The place names that refer to D. cinnabari are herein suggested to represent remnant areas of once large populations. Therefore, the toponyms may support known hypotheses based on climate models that D. cinnabari had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past. This study also confirmed the historical importance of dragon’s blood.
