Jerusalem and its surroundings from the Neolithic period to the Bronze Age

The Prehistory of Jerusalem and Its Surroundings
The prehistory of Jerusalem and its surroundings is shrouded in the mists of time and buried beneath the remains of more well-documented periods in a city that has witnessed uninterrupted history.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, all that was known about Jerusalem came from the Holy Scriptures and was limited to its history from the Biblical period onward. Archaeological excavations have uncovered findings that shed light on Jerusalem's past in earlier times. These discoveries reveal a picture of complex human activity, including impressive building systems and intricate social structures, allowing researchers from various scientific disciplines to reconstruct the history of Jerusalem and the central highlands and understand the origins of the complex processes that formed the historical fabric of the people of Israel.
In Jerusalem, archaeological finds attest to sporadic human activity starting from the Lower Paleolithic period, hundreds of thousands of years ago. The city has been continuously inhabited from the Chalcolithic period (4th millennium BCE) through the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200/1150 BCE) and beyond. From the Late Bronze Age onward, Jerusalem appears in a variety of historical sources, including the Amarna letters from ancient Egypt and additional Biblical sources such as the books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu