The dimensions of desert dragons only become apparent from the air. Source: Oliver Barge, CNRS
The dimensions of desert dragons only become apparent from the air. Source: Oliver Barge, CNRS - An international team of researchers including the University of Freiburg identifies engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia as the oldest known scaled building plans in human history. Although human constructions have modified natural spaces for millennia, few plans or maps predate the period of the literate civilizations of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Researchers from the French research organisation "Centre national de la recherche scientifique" (CNRS), together with Frank Preusser from the University of Freiburg, have now been able to identify engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia as the oldest known true-to-scale construction plans in human history. The 8,000 to 9,000-year-old engravings depict so-called desert dragons - kilometre long prehistoric megastructures used to trap animals. "Conclusions can be drawn from the findings about the people of the time. The ability to transfer a large space to a small, two-dimensional plan represents a milestone in intelligent behaviour," explains Preusser.
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