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The Use of Desert Kites as Hunting Mega‑Traps: Functional Evidence and Potential Impacts on Socioeconomic and Ecological Spheres

DOI:10.1007/s10963-022-09165-z
Authors:
Rémy Crassard at French National Centre for Scientific Research
Rémy Crassard
Wael Abu-Azizeh at Institut français du Proche-Orient
Wael Abu-Azizeh
Olivier Barge at French National Centre for Scientific Research
Olivier Barge
Jacques Elie Brochier at French National Centre for Scientific Research, Aix-en-Provence, France
Jacques Elie Brochier
  • French National Centre for Scientific Research, Aix-en-Provence, France
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Abstract and Figures

For almost a century there has been debate on the functional interpretation of desert kites. These archaeological structures have been interpreted as constructions for animal hunting or domestication purposes, sometimes for both, but with little conclusive evidence. Here, we present new evidence from a large-scale research programme. This unprecedented programme of archaeological excavations and geomatics explorations shows the unequivocal and probably exclusive function of kites as hunting traps. Considering their gigantic size, as well as the signifcant energy and organization required to build them, these types of traps are called mega-traps. Our research is based on fve diferent feld studies in Armenia, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia, as well as on satellite imagery interpretation across the global distribution area of kites throughout the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. This hunting interpretation raises questions about the transformation of the landscape by human groups and the consequent anthropogenic impacts on local ecological equilibrium during different periods of the Holocene. Finally, the role of trapping in the hunting strategies of prehistoric, protohistoric and historic human groups is addressed.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Journal of World Prehistory (2022) 35:1–44
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-022-09165-z
1 3
The Use ofDesert Kites asHunting Mega‑Traps: Functional
Evidence andPotential Impacts onSocioeconomic
andEcological Spheres
RémyCrassard1 · WaelAbu‑Azizeh1,2· OlivierBarge1·
JacquesÉlieBrochier3 · JwanaChahoud1 · EmmanuelleRégagnon1
Accepted: 9 February 2022 / Published online: 1 March 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
2022
Abstract
For almost a century there has been debate on the functional interpretation of desert
kites. These archaeological structures have been interpreted as constructions for
animal hunting or domestication purposes, sometimes for both, but with little con-
clusive evidence. Here, we present new evidence from a large-scale research pro-
gramme. This unprecedented programme of archaeological excavations and geomat-
ics explorations shows the unequivocal and probably exclusive function of kites as
hunting traps. Considering their gigantic size, as well as the significant energy and
organization required to build them, these types of traps are called mega-traps. Our
research is based on five different field studies in Armenia, Jordan, Kazakhstan and
Saudi Arabia, as well as on satellite imagery interpretation across the global dis-
tribution area of kites throughout the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
This hunting interpretation raises questions about the transformation of the land-
scape by human groups and the consequent anthropogenic impacts on local ecologi-
cal equilibrium during different periods of the Holocene. Finally, the role of trap-
ping in thehunting strategies of prehistoric, protohistoric and historic human groups
is addressed.
Keywords Desert kites· Hunting strategies· Holocene· Arid zones· Trapping·
Geomatics
* Rémy Crassard
remy.crassard@cnrs.fr
1 CNRS, UMR 5133, Archéorient, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Université Lyon,
Lyon, France
2 Institut Français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo), MEAE, CNRS, USR 3135, East-Jerusalem,
Palestinianterritories
3 CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, UMR 7269, MMSH, Aix Marseille Univ, Aix-en-Provence,
France
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... The past decade has seen a significant growth of archaeological research on kite structures, large stone-built features that are widely accepted to have functioned as a type of hunting trap (e.g. Bar-Oz et al., 2011;Crassard et al., 2015Crassard et al., , 2022Helms and Betts, 1987;Zeder et al., 2013). The defining physical characteristics of kites are a combination of three elements: driving walls that stretch over hundreds of metres and even kilometres, providing a guided approach to an enclosure of varying shape (the 'head'), and cells that are often integrated into the walls of the enclosure and were in some cases used as trapping pits (Crassard et al., 2022). ...
... Bar-Oz et al., 2011;Crassard et al., 2015Crassard et al., , 2022Helms and Betts, 1987;Zeder et al., 2013). The defining physical characteristics of kites are a combination of three elements: driving walls that stretch over hundreds of metres and even kilometres, providing a guided approach to an enclosure of varying shape (the 'head'), and cells that are often integrated into the walls of the enclosure and were in some cases used as trapping pits (Crassard et al., 2022). To date, over 6000 desert kites have been reported, and by far the majority have been documented in the Levant and Arabia (Barge et al., 2018Groucutt and Carleton, 2021), with an example from south-eastern Jordan producing a construction date of 7800 BCE ± 1000 at (Al Khasawneh et al., 2019), but with later dates from the fifth to the third millennium BCE for kite structures in northern Syrian and the southern Negev (Zeder et al., 2013: and references therein). ...
... In a recent comprehensive study of kites in the Near East and in Asia, Crassard et al. (2022) provide a detailed analysis of the layout, distribution, topography and likely use of kites. Here, we summarize some of the key characteristics relevant to kites in northern Arabia and contrast these with geographically wider examples of these forms of structure. ...
Following the herds? A new distribution of hunting kites in Southwest Asia
Article
Remote-sensing analysis of open-source satellite imagery has identified a major, new distribution of undocumented hunting kite structures in northern Arabia. This new data has important implications on the environmental viability of hunting and on possible settlement patterns during the early and middle Holocene. Running across the eastern side of the Nafud Desert in Saudi Arabia, this research has identified star-shaped kites in a distribution that continues on to southern Iraq. From a broader perspective, this new distribution appears to represent a continuation of the well-known arc of kites recorded running principally through southern Syria and eastern Jordan. As well as representing an important archaeological identification in its own right, this new distribution also has important implications in terms of the paleoenvironment of the region, faunal dispersals and human cultural connections.
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... Their interpretation was widely debated before a general consensus was reached, linking the structures to the hunting of wild animals, presumably gazelles (Crassard et al. 2015(Crassard et al. , 2022. Dating data are only just beginning to emerge across their very wide distribution zone, ranging from the Near and Middle East to Central Asia (Abu-Azizeh et al. 2015, 2021; A set of dwelling structures was discovered recently (Fig. 1) in the vicinity of the chain of kites. ...
... Eight kites have been clearly identified in Jibal al- (Crassard et al. 2022). The pit-traps were excavated in quarters or halves to preserve stratigraphic sections and to analyse filling processes, as well as to find elements for dating. ...
View
... Their interpretation was widely debated before a general consensus was reached, linking the structures to the hunting of wild animals, presumably gazelles (Crassard et al. 2015(Crassard et al. , 2022. Dating data are only just beginning to emerge across their very wide distribution zone, ranging from the Near and Middle East to Central Asia (Abu-Azizeh et al. 2015, 2021; A set of dwelling structures was discovered recently (Fig. 1) in the vicinity of the chain of kites. ...
... Eight kites have been clearly identified in Jibal al- (Crassard et al. 2022). The pit-traps were excavated in quarters or halves to preserve stratigraphic sections and to analyse filling processes, as well as to find elements for dating. ...
View
... Their interpretation was widely debated before a general consensus was reached, linking the structures to the hunting of wild animals, presumably gazelles (Crassard et al. 2015(Crassard et al. , 2022. Dating data are only just beginning to emerge across their very wide distribution specific material culture, in particular an exceptionally rich lithic industry in a stratigraphy preserved in circular dry-stone dwelling structures. ...
... The circular structures at the periphery of the enclosures were excavated. These were found to be pit-traps, where hunted animals may have been trapped, as observed during excavations of other kites in other parts of Jordan, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia (Crassard et al. 2022). The pit-traps were excavated in quarters or halves to preserve stratigraphic sections and to analyse filling processes, as well as to find elements for dating. ...
The Ghassanian Techno-Complex, Late/Final PPNB Lithic Assemblages from Desert Kite-Associated Occupation Sites in Jibal al-Khashabiyeh, South-Eastern Jordan
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
A series of eight dwelling sites were discovered recently in south-eastern Jordan, directly associated with eight mass-hunting structures: desert kites. These associated sites also share a clear chronological framework, as they are all dated to the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. The archaeological material, mostly made up of abundant lithic industries, is extremely homogenous and coherent at all the sites. The excavated lithic industries from three of the eight dwelling sites are studied here. They show similarities and consist of a blade and a bifacial component of small to large-sized artefacts, in association with a large assemblage of small arrowheads of various types. On the basis of the specific characteristics of the whole lithic assemblage, a new regional techno-complex, called the “Ghassanian”, is defined for these desert margins of the Fertile Crescent.
View
... Preferential orientation in a given direction of such kite-like structures suggests that they were traps intended to capture animals during their migrations (Crassard et al. 2022). An analysis of the orientation of the structures examined here shows no clear trend for Types A and B ( Figure 5, above). ...
... First, their shape is generally comparable to the Negev V-shaped kites. The presence of at least one cell for most kitelike structures does not prove that these were pit traps, but their signature on satellite imagery is identical to that of cells currently established to be such traps (Crassard et al. 2022). In addition, the orientation of the constructions shows that they are compatible with hunting techniques using large traps, regardless of whether the catchment area was local or targeted at migration routes. ...
Hunting in the desert: assessing the form and use of kite-like structures in the western Sahara
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2022
Nearly 500 kite-like structures have recently been discovered in the western Sahara using high resolution satellite images. Although four distinct types with different morphologies have been distinguished, their characteristics, topographical location and orientation in the landscape indicate that they are all most likely hunting traps.
View
... Desert kites are typical hunting features that are built as rock fences to divert wild game migration to a narrower flat area that is easily accessible, where some trap system captures some of the passing animals [69][70][71][72]. While the exact operation and functionality of these desert kites are under debate, in recent decades, thousands of such archaeological sites have been identified and described, from Central Asia to the Middle East and the Sahara [73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81]. Here, we compared the location of such desert kites in Harrat Khaybar with the lava flows associated nearby to them. ...
Lava Flow Hazard and Its Implication in Geopark Development for the Active Harrat Khaybar Intracontinental Monogenetic Volcanic Field, Saudi Arabia
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
Harrat Khaybar is an active monogenetic volcanic field in western Saudi Arabia that hosts spectacular monogenetic volcanoes and a Holocene volcanic cone with extensive lava fields. The volcanic region is a subject of intensive land use development, especially along tourism ventures, where the volcanic features are the key elements to utilize for increasing visitation rates to the region. The youngest eruption is suspected to be Holocene and occurred fewer than 5000 years ago based on the cross-cutting relationship between the youngest lava flows and archaeological sites. Lava flows are typical, from pāhoehoe to ‘a‘ā types with great diversity of transitional textural forms. Here, we recorded typical transitional lava flow surface textures from the youngest flows identified by digital-elevation-model-based terrain analysis, satellite imagery, and direct field observations. We performed lava flow simulations using the Q-LavHA plug-in within the QGIS environment. Lava flow simulations yielded satisfactory results if we applied eruptions along fissures, long simulation distances, and ~5 m lava flow thickness. In these simulations, the upper flow regimes were reconstructed well, but long individual lava flows were not possible to simulate, suggesting that morphological steps likely promoted lava ponding, inflation, and sudden deflation by releasing melts further along shallow syneruptive valley networks.
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... Humans in ancestral environments have utilized and modified their environments in highly varied ways to "stack the deck" in their favor in varied evolutionary games and organism-environment interactions. For example, humans created "desert kites" to funnel large numbers of animals into "mega-traps" (Crassard et al., 2022). These kites utilized the natural contours of landscapes, coupled with 9 Our focus is mostly on the antecedents and origins of technologies (and more broadly, "ways of doing things"). ...
Disruptive Evolution: Harnessing Functional Excess, Experimentation, and Science as Tool
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2023
We explore the limitations of the adaptationist view of evolution and propose an alternative. While gradual adaptation can explain some biological and economic diversity, it cannot account for radical innovation (especially during the past 10,000 years). We argue that ubiquitously available but dormant “functional excess” provides the raw material for evolutionary disruptions. Harnessing this excess requires directed experimentation and what we call “protoscientific” problem solving. We highlight the critical implications of these arguments for evolutionary economics and strategy.
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... These kites' 'heads' do not have separate instances of enclosure and cell/s and therefore do not fall within the categorisation of 'kites stricto sensu' (see above). However, as discussed by Crassard et al. (2022, p. 11), the enclosure of a kite is 'in fact a continuation of the driving lines', in that it was an area designed to direct animals towards the functional component/s of the kite-the trap/s (e.g., Crassard et al., 2022;fig. 22). ...
Kites of AlUla County and the Ḥarrat ʿUwayriḍ, Saudi Arabia
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2022
A comprehensive remote sensing survey of AlUla County in north‐west Saudi Arabia has revealed 32 examples of the ancient, stone‐built animal traps known as ‘kites’. Noting that most (27) are located on the Ḥarrat ʿUwayriḍ, a satellite survey of parts of that lavafield outside of AlUla County was undertaken, identifying a further 175 kites. These show commonalities with ‘V‐shaped’ kites previously identified in mountainous areas along the western extents of the Arabian Shield in the Sinai Peninsula, Negev Desert and south‐west Saudi Arabia. A study of the form and placement of these kites in their ecological and geological contexts suggests that they are representative of a distinct complex, exhibiting sophisticated morphological adaptations to target specific games over similar terrain.
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Morphological and geographical variability of desert kites
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2023
Desert kites are hunting mega-traps found from the Aralo-Caspian zone to Western Arabia. These structures present a singular and systematic layout suggesting that they were associated with an elaborate and standardized hunting technique. However, the morphology of these structures is very diversified (size, shape, and number of constituent elements) and here we seek to characterize this diversity. We propose a typology based on a previous clustering approach using morphological variables recorded for a representative sample, to which we add a qualitative input, the shape of the enclosures. The different identified types are regionalized and it is possible to propose a map at the scale of the entire distribution area.
View
Towards a typology of desert kites combining quantitative and spatial approaches
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2022
Desert kites are very large archaeological constructions discovered in large numbers during the last decade thanks to their identification on satellite images. The geographical area where they are present is considerable, from the Aralo-Caspian zone to central-western Arabia. Always present, several elements make up the layout of the kites, which makes them singular constructions and identifies them. However, variations in shape or size are observed throughout their extension area. Using qualitative and quantitative variables obtained by observing a sample of kites (10% of the total identified) on high-resolution satellite images, we propose a combination of exploratory statistical analysis, unsupervised machine learning approaches (PCA, clustering and association rules) and spatial analysis (neighbourhood) to establish a clustering of kites based on their morphological descriptions. This work allows to identify groups of kites sharing similar features, each of which is relatively circumscribed in geographic space. This regionalisation of morphologically homogeneous groups of kites could explain the temporality of the constructions while, despite recent fieldwork, dating is still rare.
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Variability in nomadism: environmental gradients modulate the movement behaviors of dryland ungulates
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2019
Studying nomadic animal movement across species and ecosystems is essential for better understanding variability in nomadism. In arid environments, unpredictable changes in water and forage resources are known drivers of nomadic movements. Water resources vary temporally but are often spatially stationary, whereas foraging resources are often both temporally and spatially variable. These differences may lead to different types of nomadic movements: forage‐ vs. water‐driven nomadism. Our study investigates these two different types of nomadism in relation to resource gradients from mesic steppe to xeric desert environments in Mongolia's Gobi‐Steppe Ecosystem. We hypothesized that in the desert, where water is a key resource, animals are more water‐dependent and may show water‐driven nomadism with frequent revisits to spatially fixed resources, while in the steppe, animals are less water‐dependent and may show forage‐driven nomadism, tracking high‐quality foraging patches with infrequent revisits to previously used resources. We utilized GPS movement data from 40 individuals of four ungulate species (Mongolian gazelle, goitered gazelle, saiga antelope, and Asiatic wild ass) in the Gobi‐Steppe Ecosystem. We calculated displacement distances and recursion metrics and subsequently performed a principal component analysis to quantify the variation in movement patterns. The satellite‐derived vegetation greenness served as a proxy for the resource gradient and was associated with variation in movement behaviors described by the first principal component, demonstrating that the variability in movements was closely related to the resource gradient from mesic to xeric habitats. We showed that ungulates in the resource‐rich steppe tended to move long distances with few revisits (forage‐driven nomadism), while ungulates in the resource‐poor desert tended to move shorter distances with more revisits (water‐driven nomadism). Our results suggest that xeric and mesic habitats promote different types of nomadic strategies. These results have important implications for conservation strategies: Forage‐driven nomads primarily require a high degree of landscape‐level permeability, and water‐driven nomads additionally require the protection of ephemeral water bodies and actions to maintain the functional connectivity between them.
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Desert Kites: Were They Used For Hunting Or For Herding? A Review of the Recent Academic Literature
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2018
Since the discovery of desert kites during the 1920s in southwestern Asia (where they are widely distributed) their possible functions have received much attention from archaeologists. Two main functions have been hypothesized, namely, kites primarily used either as game traps or as structures used for livestock husbandry. Two papers published in the 1990s expressed opposing views about the relevance of these different uses. During the last two decades much information has been gathered on kites as a result of archaeological excavations and satellite imaging. However the function or functions of desert kites remains uncertain. Starting from the 1990s debate, we revisit this controversial issue by reviewing the academic literature published since then. On the basis of this literature and other considerations, we conclude that although some (or all) may have been used for hunting, their main use was for the mustering of livestock. This favors the hypothesis of Echallier and Braemer (1995). In addition, it seems likely that kites were used for a third function, namely the capture of some wild or feral species of animals, particularly goats.
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Desert kites et constructions apparentées : découvertes récentes et mise à jour de l’extension géographique
Article
Résumé. Depuis une dizaine d’années, la mise en ligne libre des images satellitaires à haute résolution a permis la découverte de très nombreux desert kites, constructions en pierre de très grande taille qui jalonnent les marges désertiques du Croissant fertile. Leur nombre et l’étendue de leur répartition géographique laissent soupçonner un phénomène dont la portée était jusqu’à présent sous-estimée. On connaît par ailleurs beaucoup mieux leur diversité morphologique qui se manifeste de façon régionalisée. Cet article a pour objectif de faire un bilan de ces nouvelles connaissances. La question d’un processus de diffusion culturelle de la construction et de l’usage des kites – et d’autres constructions qui peuvent éventuellement leur être apparentées – est discutée en mettant en relation les données spatiales acquises à distance et la connaissance issue des travaux de terrain qui ont permis, ces dernières années, des avancées significatives sur les questions d’âges et de fonctions. Abstract. For the past ten years the free online availability of high-resolution satellite images has led to the discovery of numerous “desert kites” or very large stone constructions dotting the desert margins of the Fertile Crescent. Their number and the extent of their geographic distribution suggest a phenomenon whose scope has been hitherto underestimated. We also have a better understanding of their morphological diversity, which is expressed in a regionalised manner. The aim of this article is to show the state of the art of desert kite research. The question of the cultural dissemination process of kite construction and use—and other potentially related constructions—is discussed by relating the remote sensing data to the knowledge resulting from fieldwork, where significant progress was made in recent years in issues concerning dating and functions.
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Hunters, Pastoralists and Ranchers: Reindeer Economies and their Transformations
Book
  • Jan 1980
Throughout the northern circumpolar tundras and forests, and over many millennia, human populations have based their livelihood wholly or in part upon the exploitation of a single animal species–the reindeer. Yet some are hunters, others pastoralists, while today traditional pastoral economies are being replaced by a commercially oriented ranch industry. In this book, drawing on ethnographic material from North America and Eurasia, Tim Ingold explains the causes and mechanisms of transformations between hunting, pastoralism and ranching, each based on the same animal in the same environment, and each viewed in terms of a particular conjunction of social and ecological relations of production. In developing a workable synthesis between ecological and economic approaches in anthropology, Ingold introduces theoretically rigorous concepts for the analysis of specialized animal-based economies, which cast the problem of 'domestication' in an entirely new light.
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