Dating a near eastern desert hunting trap (kite) using rock surface luminescence dating

Abstract

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The Holocene humid period in the Nefud Desert: Hunters and herders in the Jebel Oraf palaeolake basin, Saudi Arabia

“…While kites, cairns, pendants and keyhole tombs show some regional variation, they are found in both the southern Levant and on the Arabian Peninsula (Barge et al, 2015;Kennedy, 2017;Kennedy et al, 2015), suggesting some level of contact across considerable distances. Although dating of these structures is difficult, the construction of kites appears to have begun in the Neolithic (Crassard et al, 2015;al Khasawneh et al, 2019;Rollefson et al, 2016). Gates (sometimes also known as Mustatil or stone platforms) are large rectangular stone structures of unknown purpose, that are currently only known from the Khaybar and western Nefud area of Saudi Arabia.…”

The mustatils: cult and monumentality in Neolithic north-western Arabia

“…22b) identified a mustatil potentially superimposed over a kite. Kites are generally dated to the Neolithic–Chalcolithic in the Levant (Helms & Betts 1987: 47; Échallier & Braemer 1995: 55; Al-Khasawneh et al 2019: 2118), with some possible exceptions dating to the fourth to third millennia BC (Zeder et al 2013: 117). Although further chronological refinement of kites in Saudi Arabia is required, a Neolithic date for some of these features is compatible with the available regional data.…”

Inscribed landscapes in the Black Desert: Petroglyphs and kites at Wisad Pools, Jordan

“…Some argue for an Epi-Palaeolithic or Neolithic date for the earliest use of kites (Betts, 2014;Betts et al, 1998;Campana & Crabtree, 1990;Legge & Rowley-Conwy, 1987), while others suggest the primary period in which kites were constructed and used is more likely the fourth to third millennium BCE (Zeder & Bar-Oz, 2014;Zeder et al, 2013). Recent dates support the early construction of kites, particularly the OSL dates of a kite in southeast Jordan (Al Khasawneh et al, 2019), dating to about 10 kya. At the same time, more detailed radiometric samples from excavations within the cell of another kite provide dates at about 7000 cal.…”