Prehistoric hunting megastructures

Ljubljana / Karst, 15 October 2025 - The prestigious scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published today an article by Slovenian archaeologists on a remarkable discovery in Karst: the discovery of several kilometres of stone structures used by prehistoric communities for mass hunting of game. It is one of the largest prehistoric architectures of its kind in Europe.

The study, conducted by Dimitrij Mlekuž Vrhovnik (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana) and Tomaž Fabec (Slovenian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage), is based on airborne laser scanning (LiDAR), field surveys, excavations and analyses using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The results reveal complex funnel-shaped dry-walled systems, ranging from a few hundred metres to several kilometres in length, ending in traps under rock steps or cliffs, to which prehistoric communities directed herds of wild animals. The excavation of one of the traps showed that the structure had long been abandoned around 3500 before the present.

Similar structures are known mainly from the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, but the discovery from the Karst suggests that such hunting structures were also present in Europe, probably soon after the end of the Ice Age - thousands of years before the advent of agriculture.

The structures in the Karst region reveal that prehistoric communities dominated the area on a large scale. Their scale testifies to a complex social and technical organisation: the planning and construction of large-scale landscape structures and the coordination of group work that went beyond the confines of individual households or small groups. The functioning of these systems was based on a detailed knowledge of animal behaviour, most probably of deer, their seasonal routes and a good understanding of the area. Such hunts yielded large seasonal surpluses of meat that could only be consumed by larger communities, in the form of group feasts and rituals. The discovery thus raises questions about community organisation, consumption, surpluses and the symbolic meaning of abundance in prehistoric societies. These structures represent a missing chapter in European prehistory - a chapter that reveals that hunting communities were already creating complex infrastructural systems and constructing space according to their needs and knowledge.

The discovery changes the understanding of European prehistory: it shows that hunting communities created monumental landscape structures that required excellent spatial knowledge, complex organisation, meticulous planning and management of seasonal meat surpluses.

Full article.