Giant stone hunting traps
Scattered across the remote Ustyurt Plateau, a vast desert landscape shared by Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, are dozens of immense stone structures shaped like arrows. These geoglyphs, known locally as "arans," are so large they are difficult to perceive from the ground. They were first identified by archaeologists in 1952 and later studied in detail using aerial photography in the 1980s. The individual layouts measure between 800 and 900 meters long, with some guide shafts extending their total length to 1.5 kilometers. The width of these formations can reach from 400 to 600 meters.
The structures consist of low stone walls or ramparts, now eroded to about one meter in height but likely much taller originally. These walls form a bag-like shape with two splayed arrows at one end, their tips forming elongated triangles. All the identified arrows point north. The tips of the arrows often terminate in pits up to two meters deep, sometimes with ten-meter diameter rings. The leading hypothesis is that these were sophisticated, large-scale hunting traps. Nomadic tribes would have used them to funnel herds of migratory animals like saiga antelopes and kulan (Asiatic wild ass) into enclosures or pit traps.
An enduring mystery
Archaeological test excavations at one of the arrow fences have unearthed pottery and other items dating to the 7th-8th centuries AD. However, this only establishes the latest period of their use. Some researchers, like Professor V.N. Yagodyn, suggest the structures could have been built and used over a much longer period, possibly from the 5th century BC to the 14th century AD. The sheer scale of the geoglyph system on the Ustyurt Plateau is larger than the more famous Nazca Lines in Peru.
While the hunting trap theory is the most widely accepted scientific explanation, other ideas have been proposed. Karakalpak scholar H. Esbergenov suggested they might have also functioned as systems for collecting scarce rainwater and snowmelt in the arid environment. Despite decades of research, no definitive consensus has been reached, and the full purpose of these ancient structures is still being studied. Their construction by nomadic peoples, who left behind few permanent settlements, is unknown.