The Gazelle's Dream

A comprehensive exploration of ancient hunting practices, The Gazelle's Dream examines game drives across continents and cultures, revealing their social and ecological significance.

Once the world's prairies, grasslands, steppes, and tundra were alive with massive herds of game, including gazelle, wild ass, bison, caribou, and antelope. In pursuit of these swift-moving herds, humans developed a variety of specialized traps that exhibit similar characteristics across continents. Typically, these traps consisted of guiding walls or lines of stones that led to an enclosure or trap, designed for mass killings. Constructing the game drive, organizing the hunt, and processing the carcass often required collaboration among groups, linking these hunts to seasonal gatherings of otherwise scattered populations. These occasions served not only for hunting but also for social, ritual, and economic exchanges.

The Gazelle's Dream: Game Drives of the Old and New Worlds offers the first comparative study of game drives, exploring this hunting method across three continents and various historical periods. The book details the hunting practices of bison in North America, reindeer in Scandinavia, antelope in Tibet, and a wide range of examples from the greater Middle East, spanning from Egypt to Armenia. This comprehensive examination reveals how game drives shaped human interaction with wildlife and the environment.

Readers interested in the history of hunting and wildlife management will find The Gazelle's Dream to be an invaluable resource. The book not only sheds light on ancient practices but also highlights the cultural significance of these hunting methods in different societies. It invites reflection on our relationship with nature and the evolution of hunting techniques over time.