Jericho

Fertile Crescent	a part of the Middle East where some of the world’s first civilizations began. In ancient times, the land there was fertile, or good for growing crops. On a map, the land forms the shape of a crescent moon. This area extends from the Persian Gulf to the Nile River valley. It includes the areas known as Mesopotamia and Palestine.
Jericho	an ancient city of Palestine that is possibly the oldest city in the world.
Palestine	a historic name for lands that now belong to Israel. a modern country comprising two non-contiguous territories: the West Bank and the Gaza strip. The official name for these territories is the “Palestinian Occupied Territories.”
West Bank	the Palestinian territory located on the west bank of the Jordan River.
Gaza Strip	the Palestinian territory located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
nomadic raiders	Nomads are groups of people who have no permanent home. They are constantly on the move. Nomadic raiders are opportunistic nomads. They will turn to raiding (stealing) if they come upon a small town or village that is not well protected.

Fertile Crescent

Agriculture and irrigation began in an area of the Middle East called the Fertile Crescent. Villages grew near farmlands, and the world’s first known city developed at Jericho in Palestine around 8,000 BC. Walls were built around Jericho to protect its agricultural surplus from nomadic raiders. Warfare, too, might have begun at Jericho. Agriculture later developed independently in China and in the Americas.

Hunting and gathering declined as agriculture became the way most humans made their living. Agriculture and other technologies spread fastest in Eurasia for several reasons: much of the Eurasia lies in a temperate zone suitable for agriculture; Eurasia had more plants and animals that could be raised by humans, and it had more people. Diseases, which often come from contact with animals, spread fastest in Eurasia too.

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