In the Levant and some arid zones of Central Asia, desert kites are well-known hunting structures often thought to have been used for the large-scale harvesting of gazelles during the Holocene. Until recently, such structures were unknown from the southern hemisphere. However, three kite sites have now been identified in Keimoes in the arid hinterland north of the Gariep River where the northwest Nama Karoo (the geographic area and ecology otherwise known as Bushmanland [Mucina and Rutherford 2006]) and Kalahari Duneveld bioregions meet. Here we use aspects of gazelle behavior, and local ethnographical and ethno-historical records, to explore the possibility that the stone-built kites or funnel chains of South Africa may have been used to hunt springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), southern Africa’s only gazelle. We argue that seasonal herds of gazelles, colloquially known as trekbokken (large springbok herds on the march), were a possible target of precolonial hunters who used their intimate understanding of the animals and their landscape to design the kites.

中文翻译：

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南非西北部纳马卡鲁生物区的风筝状结构跳羚狩猎案例

在黎凡特和中亚的一些干旱地区，沙漠风筝是众所周知的狩猎结构，通常被认为在全新世期间用于大规模收获瞪羚。直到最近，这种结构在南半球还是未知的。然而，现在已经在加里普河以北的干旱腹地凯莫斯确定了三个风筝地点，纳马卡鲁西北部（地理区域和生态学，也称为布什曼兰 [Mucina 和卢瑟福 2006]）和喀拉哈里沙丘生物区交汇处。在这里，我们利用瞪羚行为的各个方面以及当地的民族志和民族历史记录，探索南非的石头风筝或漏斗链可能被用来捕猎南部非洲唯一的瞪羚（Antidorcas marsupialis）的可能性。