10000 Years Ago...

"As the small caravan of a dozen people and half that number of donkeys came over the hill, the walls of Jericho came into view. The small girl let out a gasp. Even though she had heard stories about how big the city was, seeing it for the first time was still a shock. More surprises were to follow. Passing through the stone gateway, she saw more people than she had ever seen before. In the market place she heard languages she did not understand. Barking dogs and braying donkeys mixed with the clucking of chickens and the haggling voices of the merchants. The smell of strange fruits filled the square. The donkeys with their pots of honey and bails of wheat were unloaded. By evening they were all sold, and it was time to go home. The donkeys were now loaded up with packs of new goods: woven linen cloth, a fine stone scythe, clay cooking pots, plus for her, a small flute made from a hollow bone."

The Age of Cities: People have been living in towns and cities for much longer than had been realized. At the end of the ice age, it was believed that most people were simple hunters, wearing animal skins and living in the open. New research has changed this picture completely. Even in the Stone Age, before people learned how to shape and use metal, cities like Jericho existed. Jericho is the oldest city yet found, but older cities than that could have existed, still waiting to be rediscovered. The modern city of Jericho is built on layers and layers of older settlements. The earliest level, that of ancient Jericho 9000 years ago, was found more than 15 metres below the ground! City life meant trade. Cities were made possible because people were growing food on farms. They could now live all year in one place instead of moving around. But the large number of people living in a city could not grow enough of their own food. Supplies had to be brought in from the surrounding countryside (and most people by far still lived in small villages of one or two families). In this way, even country dwellers became involved in the life of the city.