Arabic:
Arīḥā

Jericho, town located in the West Bank. Jericho is one of the earliest continuous settlements in the world, dating perhaps from about 9000 bce. Archaeological excavations have demonstrated Jericho’s lengthy history. The city’s site is of great archaeological importance; it provides evidence of the first development of permanent settlements and thus of the first steps toward civilization. Traces have been found of visits of Mesolithic hunters, carbon-dated to about 9000 bce, and of a long period of settlement by their descendants. By about 8000 bce the inhabitants had grown into an organized community capable of building a massive stone wall ...(100 of 1137 words)