Of the world’s earliest cities, Jericho remains the most important. It was the first truly communal settlement, the first walled settlement with towers and stairs. These are just some of the fascinating insights from Jericho: The first city on earth? This insightful documentary feels like a living time capsule.
The founding of Jericho predates pottery, writing, or any other means by which modern archaeologists distill accounts of the past. Much remains to be learned about the ancient city, such as where its inhabitants came from or which god they worshiped. But there are signs that can tell us a lot about the way they lived and the progress they brought.
Jericho, located in the West Bank of Palestine, is believed to be 11,000 years old. Remarkably, the desert landscape has changed little since then and is still home to people today. Although the area had been discovered decades earlier, the most important discoveries were made in the 1950s by renowned British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon. Through careful excavation and research, Kenyon and her team were able to date the area and provide clues about how the city flourished and flourished for thousands of years.
The film tells about these findings and the evidence supporting them. Early farmers may have teamed up with Jericho hunter-gatherers, bringing an early crop and teaching them new advances in farming. Many years later, during the Neolithic period, the concepts of communal living and agriculture were more widely accepted.
Other artifacts in the area relate to religious beliefs, especially in the mysterious tower-like structures. There is also evidence that the townspeople were the first to domesticate animals.
Jericho: The world’s first city? Paints a vivid portrait of a bygone era. The film offers many answers, while also containing the region’s enduring mysteries. Archaeologists and other researchers continue to seek to unearth more truths about the region and its impact on the world we know today.
Directed by: Pete Kelly
