"Interesting archaeological features captured in the images included a canal irrigation system in Northern Iraq and prehistoric stone-wall hunting traps called desert kites, which were used to trap animals like gazelle over 5,000 years ago. The kites were preserved for a very long time because of the dry desert environment, but as modern agriculture expanded into the region, the kites were destroyed. The old U2 plane images captured many when they were still intact, giving Hammer and Ur an excellent birds-eye view of an ancient hunting tool."The photos of the desert kites, stretching like a comb...or a landlocked drift net...across the xeric landscape, are fascinating. That speaks to a bunch of cooperation before widespread domestication, ranching, and farming.
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