Archaeologists have gone on to describe what could very well be the oldest instances of construction plans that can be seen in human history that were chiselled into ancient stones in Saudi Arabia and Jordan between 7000 and 8000 years ago. Notably, the engraved geometric patterns have gone on to match with the neighbouring desert megastructures that were built a long time back, even before the pyramid of Giza, thereby leading a global team of researchers to infer that these represent a kind of early blueprint that’s guiding the creation.
If one views the huge and ancient stone constructions from a passing plane, they form a discernible shape that makes use of the natural landscape. The shaped arrows happen to be called kites, while the archaeologists suspect that these structures go on to represent humongous hunting traps that were designed to funnel the wild herds within enclosures or even push them off cliffs.
All thanks to a recently made analysis when it comes to ancient stone engravings, one now happens to have a crystal-clear understanding of the design process when it comes to such kites. As per Remy Crassard, one of the French National Centre for Scientific Research’s archaeologists, the minute precision of these engravings happens to be remarkable, thereby representing huge neolithic stone structures, the entire design of which happens to be almost impossible to gauge without being able to see it from the air or without being its architect.
These structures, for sure, go on to represent an underestimated mental mastery when it comes to space perception that was never ever observed at this accurate level in such an early context.
The plans that were found in Saudi Arabia in 2015 go on to cover a stone slab that measured under 4 metres in length and, in all possibilities, was carved by hand almost 8000 years ago. On the other hand, the engravings that have been found in Jordan were carved into a long block of limestone measuring 80 cm and dating back almost 7000 years. The engravings go on to depict a shape that’s similar to a kite, similar to the 8 desert kites that were found in the neighbouring region.
Even though, because of their humongous size, these desert kites only became known to the modern age in the 1920s, when British Air Force pilots caught a glimpse of them when flying above. Since then, a total of more than 6,000 have been counted on that dot between the Middle East and Central Asia.
These massive megastructures are almost twice as old as the Pyramids of Giza, and yet they have not caught as much attention as they could. The schemata of the stone were unearthed in 2015, and it is now that the scientists have started to properly analyse them.
As per the researchers, until recently, there were no in-depth studies that happened to be carried out so as to enhance the knowledge of the function, or rather, why it happened to be so widespread across regions that ranged from Arabia to Uzbekistan.
But unfortunately, with the limited research that has gone by, their role within the ancient society is still not clear. That said, there is indeed a strong hypothesis that suggests that desert kites were indeed designed to capture or kill wild animals by using mass hunting strategies. Apparently, the oldest happened to be built at least 9000 years ago. The Arabian Peninsula was much wetter and greener as compared to what one can see today.
It is well to be noted that many such desert kites stood on what may be grasslands, which is a usual foundation for the grazing herds.
These megastructures that are sophisticated in nature also go on to form channels that make pits and pens as well as cliffs.
The fact is that finding engraved plans for these desert kites is as good as finding blueprints when it comes to pyramids.
Apparently, the plans from Jordan are exceptionally precise and very visible. They are drawn to scale except for the kites’ ends, which happen to be exaggerated in size. Drawing the pits bigger in size may have made them easier to have a look into, or rather, they were enlarged to highlight their significant role when it came to their hunting operations.
Plans that happen to be comparable, at least on the scale, can only be found much later, in the third and second millennia BC, in Mesopotamia.
These examples aren’t nearly as accurate as the kite engravings that have been found in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The best topographers of today would be hard-pressed to come up with a sketch that is as reliable as the engravings without the use of modern mapping tools. It will not be a long shot to suggest the kite-building hunters had an idea how to make use of a surveying technique that is still not known in the modern age.
