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In any study of seascapes, an investigation of the littoral must be central, for it is here
that land and sea meet. Is there such a thing as littoral society? Is it possible to go
around the shores of an ocean, or a sea, or indeed the whole world and identify societies
that have more in common with other littoral societies than they do with their
inland neighbors? If so, do these societies draw more on their forelands—that is, their
maritime connections—than on their hinterlands? Fishing peoples, who ostensibly
are quintessential littoral peoples, exemplify the difficulties of this identification.
While their men draw their livelihood from the sea, their women engage in processing
and marketing on land, and the whole fishing community is dependent on landbased
economic forces. Many fishing communities engage in agriculture as well as piscatorial
activity. Concepts of littoral society need to be sensitive to gradations along
the strand, from the more aquatic Marsh Arabs and peddlers at the floating markets
in Bangkok to peasants who happen to live on the coast. Three criteria in particular
need attention: location, occupation, and culture.