Wadi Al-Qattafi North Playa Kites (Qa' Al-Qattafi North Shore)
Qa Al-Qattafi North Kites · North Playa Kite Chain
PPNB to Chalcolithic·Badia Neolithic playa-foragers·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Qa' al-Qattafi North Playa Margin, Jordan
About
About Wadi Al-Qattafi North Playa Kites (Qa' Al-Qattafi North Shore)
North-shore playa-margin kite complex on Qa' al-Qattafi pan edge (640 m) where three Wadi al-Qattafi arms converge. Holds 8 kites arrayed semicircular around north playa 2.8 km arc, each with 15–28 m pen and low 30 cm walls suitable for playa-floor trapping on wet-season hardpan. Unlike basalt mesa kites, north playa kites use limestone-chert pavement with shallow pit depressions 0.6 m deep that hold seasonal water to attract gazelles. Kite QA-N05 has pen subdivided into 3 cells for sorting. Dated 7500–5500 BCE; playa pollen indicates wetter early Holocene marsh.
Why it mattersOnly playa hardpan (vs basalt) kite adaptation; semicircular pan-edge layout.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Water attraction—bait vs natural pan water
Theories
- 01Playa-edge water lure
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.7500 – 5500 BCE
- Period
- PPNB to Chalcolithic
- Culture
- Badia Neolithic playa-foragers
- Builders
- Qa'an playa hunter-pastoralists
- Purpose
- Playa hardpan gazelle trapping using seasonal water attraction
- Abandoned
- c.5000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2019 Toms playa survey; 2021 EBAP Qa'an comparison
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
7500 BCE
Earliest playa hardpan kites
2019
Toms characterizes playa 10 km²
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0650° N · 37.1450° E · 640 m · 2 mapped features
Three-Cell Pen QA-N05
desert kite28-m pen subdivided into 3 sorting cells
32.0670° N · 37.1430° ENorth Shore Low Wall Arc
wall120-m low 30-cm chert wall following playa shoreline
32.0630° N · 37.1470° E