Mass Killings of Gazelles Marked Rise of Human Civilization

Michael Balter 4/19/2011 05:51:00 AM Politics
This has been turning into a science blog lately, but no worries, I will be getting back to politics soon.

Meanwhile my latest online ScienceNOW can be read at this link. As always, the first paragraph:

The mass killing of wildlife by humans is not a modern phenomenon. A new study concludes that around the time the first cities were founded in the Near East, people herded hundreds of gazelles into long stone passageways that ended in circular pits, where they would slaughter every animal. These massive hunts may have been rich with symbolism at the time, yet the authors argue that they have left the gazelles of the Near East a highly endangered species today.


Photos: Death traps. Migrating gazelles were caught and slaughtered in long stone structures called desert kites (upper right.)
Credit: Nigel Cattlin/Alamy; (map insets) Google Earth


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Michael Balter

Posted by Michael Balter

I have been a working journalist for more than 40 years, beginning in Los Angeles as an investigative reporter and then in Paris as a travel, food, and science writer. For more than 20 years I have covered anthropology and archaeology writer for Science, Audubon, Scientific American, SAPIENS, and other publications. I have also covered sexual misconduct for The Verge, Scientific American, and others; I write about mental health, especially schizophrenia; and I engage in occasional media criticism. I returned to the USA in October 2017 after 30 years in Paris, and now live in the New York City area, where I currently teach journalism at City College of New York (I previously taught journalism at Boston University and New York University.) For more about me and what I do, copies of my articles, information about my book, and other goodies, please visit MY WEB SITE

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1 Comments

Kandinsky said…
Interesting subject for an article. The kites are spread across many parts of the Middle East. In some areas they seem to cover square miles of boulder fields and make me wonder what the whole food chain was based on.

Interestingly, it may not only be gazelles that were slaughtered. Cave art in the Khaybar region depicts ostriches. They were once pretty numerous around there and likely returned more on the investment of time and resources than gazelles; more meat per animal.
April 19, 2011 at 12:17 PM
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