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The Walls and Tower of Jericho
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Why did the inhabitants of Jericho, some time around 7,400 BCE, in what is now called the Jordan Valley, construct such massive stone walls and high tower, some three meters thick? Here we see some of the archaeological remains of this once unique city.
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Natufian sickle blades and bone handle, with deer's head. Example of the domestication of corn from the Americas. a. a "spike" of teosinte, a wild plant, consisting of a single role of kernels in a hard, shell-like fruit case. b. a modified teosinte, similar to an early transitional form. c. a single mutation in teosinte can give rise to a tunicate variety, in which the hard fruit case is converted into a soft, husk-like glumes from which kernels can be threshed easily. This mutation my well have been a crucial step in the domestication of teosinte. d. this small primitive ear is similar to specimens of some 5,000 BCE. e. modern corn.
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an artist's reconstruction of Jericho's walls and tower.
