Experts have established that before the Jewish tribes conquered at the end of the second millennium BC and acquired a written history, Ancient Palestine was a territory where signs of human habitation were discovered six hundred thousand years BC. Based on the found fragments of skeletons, tools made of flint, architectural elements, burials, scientists discovered that hunting and gathering in this region began about 0.6 million years ago and were subsequently accompanied by the production of tools from pebbles, chopped. Later, the inhabitants of this region mastered the technique of production of chopping items by chipping and flaking, which slightly increased labor productivity in those days.
From hunting and gathering to city life
The history of Ancient Palestine before the advent of writing is divided, as a rule, into three stages. The first, which lasted until 10 millennium BC, shows that people in this region were mainly engaged in gathering and hunting. Between 10,000 and 5,300 years BC, the inhabitants of most of the Palestinian lands mastered agriculture, later they passed into the era of cities, which was characterized by the emergence of trade, permanent settlements protecting the nascent armies. To record historical events here began about 2 thousand years BC.
Ancient Palestine is notable for the fact that on its territory eight thousand years before the birth of Christ the city of Jericho existed as if "apart". This is one of the oldest cities on the planet, located 260 meters below sea level (the lowest location). Its first settlers did not own pottery, but they were able to cultivate the land and built wild stone walls around the city, living in houses of unbaked brick. The Natufians (as scientists call them) appeared as a result of a mixture of Negro-Australoids and Caucasians. They lived in Jericho in the 8-9th millennium BC. After them, this territory was occupied by representatives of the Takhuni culture - tribes that already own pottery. This peculiar capital of Ancient Palestine was repeatedly destroyed, including by the order of Joshua in the beginning of the 12th century BC.
Palestinian cities did not become the center of a unified civilization in ancient times
At the end of the fourth millennium BC, small city-states began to appear in Palestine, quite prosperous due to the fact that numerous trade routes connecting Europe, Asia and Africa passed in this area. In addition, residents of Palestinian lands themselves could offer goods in demand. These were salt and bitumen from the Dead Sea, antimony from the Levant, balms from Galilee, copper and turquoise from Sinai, olives, wine, livestock and crop products. At that time, Ancient Palestine was a commercially developed region, but did not become a civilization center, unlike Egypt, northern Syria and Mesopotamia, where almost empires existed. In the Palestinian territories of that time there were already settlements similar to the medieval cities of Europe, but, unlike Egypt, there was no single written language and a strong enough king who could unite separate administrative entities under his authority.
What cities did Palestine have at that time? The ancient world, discovered by scientists during excavations in the twentieth century, turned out to be sufficiently developed for that time. In particular, an unprecedented number of animal bones was discovered in the still Neolithic Ashkelon, which indicates that this was probably the site of a large ancient slaughterhouse where meat products were salted using the Dead Sea salts. A total of 16 meters thick cultural layer was discovered in this area. In his study, it was established that through this city the path from Egypt to the Hittites went on and on to Rome and Greece, the path from the Parthian kingdom to Egypt. Next to this large settlement came the “incense road” from Arabia and the “path of spices” from Nabatea and Petra via Eilat, the Yemeni ports to the Indian Ocean. Not surprisingly, the city sought to capture all who came to the Palestinian lands.
Palestinian settlements are repeatedly mentioned in the Bible
What settlements was ancient Palestine still known to contemporaries? A lesson in the 5th grade of the school may be worth supplementing with information about settlements such as Gaza and Ashdod. Gaza is considered one of the most ancient cities in the world (founded in 3 thousand BC), is included in the Philistines five cities - five settlements where the Philistines lived, who were originally the only ones in the Middle East who owned iron smelting technologies and were successful wars. The Gaza Bible is mentioned more than twenty times. The ancient city in Palestine, Ashdod, was densely populated as early as 10 millennia BC. The first buildings on this site date back to the seventeenth century BC, and the first written references to the 14th century BC. Ashdod at all times was a large commercial settlement, which was alternately occupied by the Canaanites, Philistines, Assyrians, Egyptians, etc.
An interesting concept about the causes of migration to Palestinian lands in 2 thousand BC. e.
Ancient Palestine (the 5th grade of the school is unlikely to get acquainted with such theories) from the third millennium BC was exposed to significant immigration flows. Some science fiction scholars (Zakaria Sitchin, in particular) believe that the resettlement of peoples from the deserts of the west and northeast could be related to the use of the likeness of nuclear weapons in 2048 BC in the Sinai Peninsula area of some more advanced civilization. This caused radiation contamination of the area and a large wave of migration (traces of possible exposure remained on the Sinai Peninsula in the form of pebbles sintered at high temperatures). In particular, numerous Hyksos tribes arrived in the Palestinian lands (possibly, these were associations of Amalecites, Hannanes, Khurites and other nomadic tribes), which possessed chariot forces and easily conquered Egypt and Palestine, which at that time did not possess cavalry troops.
Items not characteristic of the era and houses with two angles
Note that the prehistoric culture of Ancient Palestine is rich in archaeological puzzles. In particular, scientists found in the layers belonging to the Middle Paleolithic, blades that are very different in technical terms from the main array of tools that cavemen owned in that area. How they ended up there and why they quickly disappeared from circulation is still a mystery. Studying how Ancient Palestine was organized (school grade 5), you can draw the attention of students to how ancient settlements were arranged in this area. Here at first there were apsid houses (with one rounded wall, which was opposed by a wall with two corners). In several rooms of such a structure people lived, almost always together with cattle and food supplies.
In a later period, wealthy people began to build two-story rectangular structures, where the owners lived on the second floor, and on the first there was a stable, storage, utility rooms. There were few private houses in the cities themselves - most of the city squares were occupied by defensive fortifications, public buildings, like temples, the streets were narrow. Here lived mainly artisans, nobles, soldiers, merchants, while peasants lived outside the city walls, in villages.
Their temples looked like Mesopotamian
The presence in the settlements (Megiddo, Gai, Bef-Dzhekharov, Bet-Shan) of the remnants of large structures reaching tens of meters in length with columns, courtyards, often oriented along the line of "east-west", allowed some scientists to say that the inhabitants of Palestine in ancient times worshiped deities (temples are similar to the Mesopotamian temples of Baal-Dagon in structure). But during excavations in these cities, it was not possible to find any semblance of altars and objects of worship. Therefore, some experts believe that these "temples" were just granaries. In the early period of its existence, ancient Palestine experienced an invasion of peoples who left a mark in its culture in the form of specific ceramics (lacquered) and brought (it was not established where) stone stupas with pestles, while the new people almost did not use tools made of bone or flint . The powerful neighbor of Egypt also influenced the culture of this region, from where, presumably, the “fashion” for red ceramic vessels with one handle and a narrow leg came from.
In ancient Palestine, the font was a picture
The ancient state in Palestine found its first writing around the second millennium BC, and this letter was pictographic. The signs used included various geometric figures, for example, a cross and images of a person in various poses. Most often, marks were made on the vessels in which the goods were transported. But other civilizations have written much more about this region. For example, in Egypt, in the twenty-fourth century BC, the first marks appeared on military campaigns in the Syrian-Palestinian region (under the leadership of General Uni). In Hannanian sources, this region was referred to as Canaan, respectively. Herodotus also wrote about Palestine (Syria Palestinian) in his writings, and of course, this territory is repeatedly mentioned in religious documents, including in the Bible.
From the middle of the second millennium BC, partially Ancient Phenicia and Palestine (almost completely), where the Canaanite (including the Philistines) and Amonite tribes lived, began to be attacked by the nomadic Khabiri peoples (Ibru, the ancestors of the ancient Jews), who, in their turn, gradually mastered a sedentary lifestyle. In their midst, on the basis of the development of trade exchange and constant wars, class stratification arose, which allowed the enriched and strong members of society to claim the title of leader who began to found small tribal unions amid the weakening influence of empires of past centuries (Egypt). The heads of these unions began to unite the territories around them. Thus, the kingdom of King Saul appeared in these territories, which later became the united kingdom of Israel and Judea (under kings David and Solomon). It fell apart after the death of Solomon, and was partially conquered by the Assyrian king Sargon II.
There is no peace in this region for millennia
The history of Ancient Palestine in the following millennia is associated with constant clashes of various interests, cultures, states and nationalities that exist to this day, without adding peace and tranquility in this region. For example, after the fall of Assyria at the end of the seventh century BC. e. the Jews tried to return the Palestinian territories, but instead they were attacked a little later by King Nebuchadnezzar and the looting of their capital, etc. From these lands the population was repeatedly stolen (Babylonian, Egyptian), but invariably returned there.
Differences between Palestine and Phenicia
Ancient Phenicia and Palestine, despite the similar composition of the nationalities living in them and their close proximity, have some features of the development of each territory. For example, Phenicia never possessed large agricultural areas, however, it had large trading port cities where maritime business (military and civilian) has long been developed. Beautiful sailors, Phoenicians, delivered goods to Egypt, periodically falling under the oppression of this ancient empire (in the middle of the second millennium BC, for example). Later, trade developed with Crete, which at that time had the largest reserves of copper.
Phoenician city-states produced dried fish, wine, olive oil, the first to use slaves for rowing in galleys. It was on this territory that the alphabetical system of writing was born on the basis of Egyptian hieroglyphs, which subsequently gave rise to the Greek alphabet. The Phoenician territory in the 12th century BC was able to become independent from Egypt and developed along the path of colonization of other territories. Brave city residents went on sea voyages and founded cities, for example, Carthage, settlements in Malta and Sardinia.
The oldest Bible in the world found in jugs
Biblical subjects are connected with the territory of Israel, Judea, Palestine, which gave the world a new religion - Christianity. And it was on the coast of the Dead Sea, in the vicinity of Wadi Qumran, that the ancient scrolls of Qumran caves of Palestine were found. These documents, representing the oldest Bible manuscripts in the world, sealed in jugs, were accidentally found by a shepherd. Since the leather of the scrolls was unsuitable for making sandals, the shepherd kept them for some time in his nomadic tent, and then sold them for nothing in Bethlehem in 1947. Scientists have found that these invaluable manuscripts for world culture were compiled by the Essenes religious community in the first century BC. They include almost all the books of the Old Testament and a number of related documents.