Archaeologists find ritual hunt site in Jordanian desert from 7,000 B.C

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Hams Rabah

AMMAN – Archaeologists have found a stone age web site courting again to 7,000 B.C. in a distant desert in Jordan, with constructions which present people had been rounding up and looking gazelles a lot sooner than beforehand thought.

The crew of French and Jordanian consultants additionally discovered over 250 artifacts on the web site, together with beautiful animal collectible figurines which they consider had been utilized in rituals to invoke supernatural forces for profitable hunts.

The objects, which embody two stone statues with carvings of human faces, are amongst a number of the oldest creative items ever discovered within the Center East.

“It is a distinctive web site the place massive portions of gazelles had been hunted in advanced rituals. It has no rival on this planet from the stone age,” mentioned Wael Abu Azizeh, the co-director of the French archeological crew.

The consultants discovered converging lengthy stone partitions a number of kilometres lengthy, which had been used to entice the gazelles right into a confined space the place they might be hunted extra simply.

Though such constructions, generally known as “desert kites” will also be discovered elsewhere within the arid landscapes of the Center East and south west Asia, these are believed to be the oldest, finest preserved and the most important, the consultants mentioned.

“They attest to the rise of extraordinarily refined mass looking methods, sudden in such an early timeframe,” mentioned an announcement by the South Japanese Badia Archaeological Mission (SEBAP) engaged on the location since 2013.

The settlement’s round hut-like dwellings and huge portions of gazelle stays present the inhabitants weren't simply looking for their very own wants however had been additionally exchanging with neighbouring settlements.

Tourism Minister Nayef al Fayez instructed Reuters the discoveries had been a spectacular addition to Jordan’s archeological gems, which embody town of Petra hewn out of the desert rock, the Roman metropolis of Jerash, and castles from the Center Ages.

(This story corrects age of the location)