Desert kites in the Libyan Sahara: new evidence from remotely sensed images

Giannelli, Gianna; Maestrucci, Fabio

doi:10.15184/aqy.2018.151

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Such notions suppose a reliable understanding of the distribution of desert kites across space, which, as we shall explore in this paper, is actually lacking. Analogously, recent research has identified desert kites (or at least 'kite-like' structures), in several areas of Africa, such as Libya (Giannelli & Maestrucci, 2018), the Nile Valley (Storemyr, 2011), and South Africa (Lombard et al, 2020). These findings again emphasize the need to re-evaluate the current consensus regarding the spatial distribution of desert kites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

A review to the Desert Kite: State of the Art!

Nazari

2024

jpad

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Although from the beginning of the historical period, known as the emergence of the writing, it has not passed more than several thousand years, but the history of human evolution can be rooted in an era much older than the one seen: in the age of the hunting-gathering culture! Hunter-gatherer culture was the way of life for early humans until around 11,000 to 12,000 years ago. The lifestyle of huntergatherers was based on hunting animals and foraging for food. Desert kites could be mentioned as a probable transition key from the age of hunting-gathering food to pastoralism, which can be dated today with the development of cosmogenesis and luminescence methods. ‘Desert kites’ are stone constructions made of two long low walls called antennae that converge into an enclosure flanked or not by several small cells. Their shape and archeological evidence suggest that these extensive stone structures may have functioned as game traps, designed to capture and kill large numbers of wild animals. The kite is a landmark that reveals a way of occupying territory. It is an architectural feature of social groups, which hence left a reflection of their territory and catchment. However, these people have sometimes left very few traces enabling their identification. Considering the extent and density of these settlements, the kite is a massive phenomenon whose role was probably crucial in the development of societies in arid regions. It has been seen from the eastern Mediterranean to the eastern Caspian, which suggested finding less of the same structure in the Iranian plateau, as the only suitable linkage, when the northern lands were nearly frozen! Thus, the perspective is reversed from traditional archaeological research, where groups are most often identified by their domestic settlements, with their still undefined modes of subsistence. Kites, as a phenomenon, are therefore a challenge for the archaeology that requires creative and novel approaches.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

A review to the Desert Kite: State of the Art!

Nazari

2024

jpad

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“…After the discovery of 330 structures on the Hamada al Hamra plateau (Giannelli & Maestrucci 2018), another survey was undertaken in the south-east region of Adrar Nafusah (Jebel Gharbi), between Mizdâ and sebkha Tawargha (Figure 1). A high concentration of structures were identified in this survey, scattered among the most important wadis such as Sofeggin, Merdum and Zemzem.…”

Section: New Discoveriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sometimes the antennae do not converge on a pit, but are directed towards a natural geographical drop, such as the edge of a wadi or a depression in the ground, as seen with the 'chute' of the desert kites of the Hamada al Hamra (Giannelli & Maestrucci 2018), the Negev and Sinai (Holzer et al 2010;Bar-Oz et al 2011;Nadel et al 2013). In addition to pits or mobile devices such as nets or shrubs, aquatic environments, where the prey would have been more vulnerable, may also have been employed.…”

Section: New Discoveriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desert kites in the Tripolitania region: new evidence from satellite imagery

Giannelli

Maestrucci

2019

Antiquity

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“…2020). Further hunting-trap structures, formed of long walls, have also been discovered in the Hamada al Hamra desert region, Libya (Giannelli & Maestricci 2018, 2019). Further to the west, in the heart of the western Sahara, new research has identified nearly 500 additional structures using satellite imagery; some are isolated in the Saharan vastness, but most are distributed in two main concentrations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%