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Ever since the existence of certain stone structures, kite shaped in plan, were first noticed in the Jordanian and Syrian deserts during the 1920's, they have been the subject of numerous descriptions and speculations as to their origin, age and function. The view generally held today is that they were built by gazelle hunters as traps; the long stone walls (which converge on an enclosure) would lead the animals to a point where they could be killed. A different explanation is presented here : that the kites were erected by pastoralists mainly in order to capture and eventually to corral herds of possibly semi-domesticated animals, living in their natural habitat on the Fertile Crescent margins. This view is based on the results of surveys and mapping of kites in southern and central Syria, archaeological evidence from excavations, comparisons of the kites from the viewpoint of morphology, distribution, topographic situation in relation to water sources, wind direction, etc, and ethnographic parallels. It is concluded that the kites could refer to pastoralists' stock-raising techniques which changed, as needed, through time in many areas of the Near East from the Neolithic to recent times.
Echallier et al. (Sun,) studied this question.