{"id":160155,"date":"2023-06-01T12:33:50","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T12:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=160155"},"modified":"2023-06-01T12:33:50","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T12:33:50","slug":"ancient-architectural-blueprints-unraveling-the-mystery-of-desert-kites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/travel\/ancient-architectural-blueprints-unraveling-the-mystery-of-desert-kites\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Architectural Blueprints: Unraveling the Mystery of Desert Kites"},"content":{"rendered":"           <!--  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n                jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n                    jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n                        if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n                        }\r\n                    });\r\n                })\r\n            <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n            <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n            <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n                                <span style=\"background-color:#4db2ee;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n                <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#4db2ee;background-color:rgba(77, 178, 238, 0.1);\">\r\n                                                        <li>Desert kites are prehistoric stone structures found across arid landscapes from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan. They were used as traps for hunting wild animal herds.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>In 2015, two stone monoliths with detailed depictions of desert kites were discovered in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. These engravings, dating back 7,000 to 9,000 years, are the oldest known architectural plans in human history.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The engravings accurately depict the shape and structure of nearby kites, confirming that they were to scale. This demonstrates the advanced spatial cognition and ability of ancient hunters to process complex spatial information.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The purpose of these engraved depictions is speculative and could have served as blueprints for constructing the kites, maps for the hunters, or symbols representing the cultural identity of the people who used them.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The discovery sheds light on the cognitive development and societal organization of Stone Age communities. It suggests that ancient hunters had the capacity to envision, comprehend, and illustrate large spaces with precision.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Further archaeological discoveries and studies are needed to better understand the creators and purpose of the desert kites and to unravel the history and culture of ancient societies.<\/li>\r\n                                                <\/ul>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            \n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Archaeologists have been grappling with the enigma of massive prehistoric stone structures, known as desert kites, dotting the arid landscapes from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These structures, spanning miles, mimic the appearance of kites with tail strings when viewed from above.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies over recent years have brought forth the consensus that these stone formations were designed as traps for hunting wild animal herds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet, the conception and perception of these grand structures by the prehistoric hunters had remained obscure until recently.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Monoliths as Maps<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a breakthrough discovery in 2015, two stone monoliths with meticulous depictions of adjacent desert kites were unearthed in <a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/travel\/eco-friendly-luxury-travel-on-the-rise-in-the-middle-east\/\" data-lasso-id=\"23386\">Jordan and Saudi Arabia<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These engravings, dating back 7,000 to 9,000 years, are recognized as the oldest architectural plans in human history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They offer invaluable insights into how meticulously ancient people planned these desert kites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the past decade, more than 6,000 desert kites have been identified across the Middle East and Central Asia using satellite imagery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During their field surveys in Southeastern Jordan and Northern Saudi Arabia, archaeologists noticed that these monoliths&#8217; depictions bore three defining features of the kite structures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These features include tail strings, converging into a walled enclosure, and pits along the edges.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These formations were likely used to guide or chase herds of animals like gazelles into the enclosure. Hunters would then use these strategic pits to capture any escaping animals.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Mathematical Models Validate Findings<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team confirmed that these engravings mirrored the shape and structure of nearby kites. For instance, in Southeastern Jordan, the tail lines of kites curved as they funneled into enclosures, a feature reflected on the engraved stone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mathematical models further corroborated the correlation between the engravings and nearby kites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This confirmed the representations were to scale, revealing the ancient hunters&#8217; advanced spatial cognition and ability to process complex spatial information.<\/span><\/p>\n                        <!-- <div class=\"container-c\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"row justify-content-between\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"col-post-800\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- start html -->\r\n                        <div class=\"blockquote-wapper\">\r\n                            <div>\r\n                                <span class=\"text_quot\">\r\n                                    <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Archaeologists have been grappling with the enigma of massive prehistoric stone structures, known as desert kites, dotting the arid landscapes from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan.<\/span><\/p>\n                                <\/span>\r\n\r\n                                <div class=\"quot_icon\">\r\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                                <\/div>\r\n                            <\/div>\r\n\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"quot_tick\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot_tri.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                        <\/div>\r\n                        <!-- end html -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                                    \n<h2><b>Blueprint or Commemoration?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the precise representations and confirmation of their scale, the purpose of these engraved depictions remains speculative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They could have served as blueprints for constructing the kites or as maps for the hunters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alternatively, these engravings could symbolize the desert kites, likely an integral part of the cultural identity of the people who created and used them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Implications for Archaeological Studies<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This breakthrough discovery illustrates that people of the Stone Age had developed the capacity to envision, comprehend, and illustrate large spaces precisely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This mental mastery of space offers fresh insights into the minds of these ancient hunters. Furthermore, the two engraved slabs represent the oldest known to-scale architectural plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They hint at the collective efforts and investments that must have gone into constructing these kites, providing valuable insights into the ancient communities that could organize and execute large-scale hunting operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While much remains to be understood about the creators and purpose of the desert kites, this discovery has certainly advanced our understanding of our ancestors&#8217; cognitive development and societal organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As more archaeological discoveries are made, we hope to unravel further the enigmatic history and culture of our ancient predecessors.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":160156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410,408],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-and-culture","category-travel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}