These 8,000-year-old stone engravings may be the world's oldest 'blueprints'
What's the story
Scientists have come across stone engravings of ancient megastructures in Jordan and Saudi Arabia that may be the world's oldest "blueprints." The carvings are supposed to be plans for nearby structures, which archaeologists call "desert kites," meant to have served as traps for animals. As per a study, the "archaeological mega-traps" are estimated to be "at least 9,000 years" old.
Desert kites
What are desert kites?
Desert kites are vast portions of land surrounded by low-lying stone walls. At the perimeter of these enclosures, several pits serve as animal traps. These kites are mostly found in the Middle East and Central Asia. Hunters would herd animals into these kites, making it hard for them to escape. The kites made it easier for the hunters to kill the animals.
Information
Desert kites were first discovered about 100 years ago
Measuring roughly the size of two football fields, desert kites cannot be seen in their entirety from the ground. These structures were first noticed about 100 years ago when aerial photography was picking up.
Age
Desert kites in the Middle East are the oldest
There are over 6,000 desert kites discovered across the Middle East and Central Asia, and some portions of Syria, and Jordan. Saudi Arabia is found to have up to one kite for every square kilometer. The kites in the Middle East are the oldest, and there is evidence suggesting that some of them were used for more than thousands of years.
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Recent discovery suggests how Neolithic humans might have planned mega-traps
The recent discovery of carvings engraved in rocks in Jordan and Saudi Arabia gives an idea of how humans in the New Stone Age may have planned "mega-traps," according to the study.
Official words
"The amazing discovery is that the plans are to scale"
"The amazing discovery is that the plans are to scale," said Remy Crassard, an archaeologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). They show a sophisticated approach to the kites "constrained by shape, by symmetry, and by dimensions," added Crassard. "We had no idea that people at that time were able to do that with such accuracy."
Jordan
Stone engravings in Jordan were found on an 80cm-long rock
In 2015, researchers found an engraving of a kite carved into a rock that measures roughly 80 centimeters long and 32 centimeters across. The engraved rock was found beside a kite in the Jordanian desert's Jibal al-Khashabiyeh region. Seven other kites were found nearby carrying a similar pattern of a star-shaped boundary with pits at its corners and curved "driving lines," said the study.
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Stone engravings were found in Jebel az-Zilliyat in Saudi Arabia
The same year, another engraving was found in Jebel az-Zilliyat in Saudi Arabia. The carvings were made into a sandstone boulder measuring two meters high and over three meters wide. It was found between two pairs of star-shaped desert kites, corresponding to the carvings.
Age
The team carried out radiocarbon tests on the samples
Archaeologists conducted radiocarbon tests on the specimens collected from the Jordanian sites, revealing that the stone carvings and kites were made at roughly the same time, about 7,000 years ago. Rock engravings and kites in Saudi Arabia, are estimated to date back to 8,000 years. The stone carvings are plans for the kites, which make them the oldest-ever "blueprints" discovered.