| Preface | |
| 1 | Introduction | 1 |
| Myths and Legends | 3 |
| Definitions | 4 |
| Animals | 5 |
| Cultural/Ecological Areas | 6 |
| Key Animals | 9 |
| Ecology of Movement | 11 |
| Pastoral Economic Organization | 12 |
| Pastoral Social and Political Organization | 15 |
| Approaches and Themes | 17 |
| 2 | The Cattle Keepers: East African Pastoralism | 19 |
| The Cattle Complex: Definition/Distribution/Problems | 20 |
| Cultural Ecology of East African Pastoralism | 21 |
| Having Large Herds: Symbols, Subsistence, and Survival | 24 |
| The Role of Agriculture and Trade | 26 |
| Social Organization | 29 |
| Political Organization | 37 |
| Problems and Prospects for Pastoralists in Modern Africa | 49 |
| 3 | The Camel Nomads: The Desert Bedouins | 57 |
| A Few Words About Camels | 58 |
| The Emergence of Bedouin Societies | 60 |
| The Bedouins of Arabia | 64 |
| The Economics of Camel Pastoralism | 68 |
| Households and Tent Groups | 69 |
| Lineage Models of Society | 74 |
| Women's Roles and Marriage Patterns | 76 |
| Honor and Reputation | 78 |
| Tribes with Leaders: The Role of Sheikhs | 82 |
| Tribes and States in History | 83 |
| The Bedouin in the Modern World | 87 |
| 4 | The Good Shepherds: Pastoral Tribes of Southwest Asia | 93 |
| Sheep and Goats | 93 |
| Pastoral Economics | 94 |
| The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan | 98 |
| Family Cycle | 100 |
| Models of Sedentarization and Their Consequences | 104 |
| Tribal Khans and Nomadic Confederations | 107 |
| Pastoralism and Economic Change | 118 |
| The Viability of Contemporary Nomadic Pastoralism | 126 |
| 5 | The Horse Riders: Nomads of the Eurasian Steppe | 131 |
| Horse Domestication and the Rise of Steppe Pastoralism | 132 |
| Nomadic Pastoralism in Central Eurasia | 136 |
| Social Organization | 145 |
| Political Organization | 149 |
| The Nomads Who Conquered the World | 158 |
| Central Eurasian Pastoralists Today | 168 |
| 6 | The Yak Breeders: High Altitude Pastoralism in Tibet | 180 |
| The Drokba of Northwestern Tibet | 182 |
| Tibet under Chinese Rule | 194 |
| The Future of Pastoralism in Tibet | 199 |
| 7 | The Enduring Nomad: Perceptions and Realities | 202 |
| The Problems and Prospects for Nomads in the Modern World | 207 |
| "The Tragedy of the Commons": Do Nomads Degrade the Environment? | 214 |
| Bibliography | 220 |
| Index | 226 |