Hey Daniel,
Thank you for calling me a vandalizer...
You are right, I´m mapping herders paths as other fellow mappers are mapping hiking trails. The reason for mapping these paths is the fact, that they are the only "roads" in this part of the world where there is no other access to small villages and hamlets of the local Touareg people. They are in use for transport, trade and communication between these places and are also frequently used by camel and donkey trains. They are physically present and, in most places, clearly visible.
These important paths are very often linking and following periodic creeks that run 2-3 times a year. The creeks are important natural features and offer very much needed water and food for the people and their herds and trains. They are the veins of life in the Sahara and fill the many "gueltas", waterholes, that make life possible in this harsh environment. Creeks and gueltas are as well clearly visible, physically present and an important natural feature.
You also mentioned the archaelogical sites that are, in your point of view, holes in the landscape and unverfiable. Allow me to let you know that this part of the Sahara, specially the Tassili-Plateau, has the most archeological sites in the world. For this reason it was designated a national park and a Unesco World Heritage Site. What you see as holes are physically very present neolithic burial sites: mound-,crater- or plattform tumuli, keyhole-, crescent- or V-shaped tombs, most of the untouched and clearly visible remains of human culture 5 to 6 thousand years old and worth to be seen on a map.
Altogether, paths, periodic creeks and archaeologic "holes" are closely connected. The creeks and waterholes are the base for the course of the paths and most of the archaeological sites ly along or near the paths that are in use since thousands of years, since neolithis times when the Iheren people of the Capsa culture roamed the area on their transhumance. They are some of the oldest infrastructural features in the world and actually archaeological sites itself.
Well, if you still want to call me a vandalizer, just go ahead. This vandalizer is working in this part of the world since almost 15 years as an hiking and anventure guide and tourdesigner for international groups that are interested in the local Touareg culture, the fascinating landscape and the amazing variety of neolithic remains as rockpaintings, engravings and burial sites. So he knows what he is talking about...
Regards
Egmont