Early Walled Settlement at Jericho
c. 9600-8000 BCE · Prehistoric
Around 9600 BCE, year-round habitation began at Jericho near the Ein es-Sultan spring as the Younger Dryas period ended. By 9400 BCE, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement contained over 70 circular clay and straw brick dwellings housing an estimated 1,000-3,000 people. By 8000 BCE, inhabitants constructed a stone wall approximately 3.6 meters high and 1.8 meters wide, with an 8.5-meter internal tower. The community cultivated wheat and barley while developing irrigation techniques. This transition from nomadic to settled agrarian life preceded urban centers that later emerged in Mesopotamia.
Key Figures
Kathleen KenyonJohn Garstang
Locations
JerichoLevant
Topics
middle-eastagricultureneolithicurbanizationfortificationproto-cityLevant
Connected Events — 2 Connections
Lydian coinage, centered at Sardis, created the economic infrastructure that enabled Persian taxation and tribute systems in Asia Minor, making Greek cities wealthy enough to fund rebellion but also creating the fiscal grievances that motivated the revolt Ionian Revolt begins
The earlier PPNA walled settlement at Jericho established the permanent community whose PPNB descendants developed skull plastering approximately 2000 years later at the same site Jericho PPNB Plastered Skulls
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