In short
Around 9100 BCE, people in the Jordan Valley stopped moving with the seasons and built the first permanent settlement at Jericho. This shift from hunting and gathering to staying in one place marked the beginning of sedentary life—a prerequisite for farming, cities, and civilization itself.
How it unfolded.
The five-minute version
What actually happened.
A permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil service chief executives of government departments or ministries, who generally hold their position for a number of years at a ministry as distinct from the changing political secretaries of state to whom they report and provide advice. The role originated in the civil service of the United Kingdom and has been adopted in several Commonwealth countries as well as other countries influenced by the Westminster system.
As it was happening
14 voices, 2627360 days.
One beat at a time. Click any dot on the timeline to jump, press play for autoplay, or use the arrow keys to step.
PPNA phase ends; transition to PPNB
Settlement experiences significant changes in architecture, toolkit, and subsistence. Rectangular buildings replace round structures; domesticated plants become more prominent, marking shift toward agriculture.
Voices from this moment (8)
Synthesized from period accounts - Kenyon's excavation reports and lectures, 1956-1960
Jan 15
“These people did not arrive by chance.”
The Illustrated London News
Mar 15
“Permanent Settlement Discovered in Palestine - Evidence of…”
The Times of London
Mar 18
“Ancient Jericho: Cradle of Civilization Unearthed”
Synthesized from period accounts - Childe's 'Man Makes Himself' and subsequent archaeological syntheses
Jan 1
“Jericho represents the threshold.”
4 more voices - captured but not shown in this slot.
As it was happening
14 voices, 2627360 days.
Day 2225594 · September 1, 8000
PPNA phase ends; transition to PPNB
Settlement experiences significant changes in architecture, toolkit, and subsistence. Rectangular buildings replace round structures; domesticated plants become more prominent, marking shift toward agriculture.
“These people did not arrive by chance.”
- Synthesized from period accounts - Kenyon's excavation reports and lectures, 1956-1960, Jan 15
“Permanent Settlement Discovered in Palestine - Evidence of…”
- The Illustrated London News, Mar 15
“Ancient Jericho: Cradle of Civilization Unearthed”
- The Times of London, Mar 18
“Jericho represents the threshold.”
- Synthesized from period accounts - Childe's 'Man Makes Himself' and subsequent archaeological syntheses, Jan 1
“What we witness at Jericho and similar sites is not mere…”
- Synthesized from period accounts - Perrot's Levantine surveys, 1960s publications, Jun 20
“FR: 'Une Ville Antédiluvienne Découverte en Palestine' /…”
- Le Figaro, Mar 22
“We must resist the urge to see civilization where we see…”
- Synthesized from period accounts - Tufnell's field notes and methodological critiques, 1950s-60s, Apr 10
“Settlement experiences significant changes in architecture,…”
- PPNA phase ends; transition to PPNB, Sep 1
Day 2408215 · September 1, 8500
Peak population and social complexity
Jericho reaches maximum occupancy and spatial organization. Evidence of craft specialization and long-distance trade in obsidian and other materials suggests developed social hierarchies.
“Jericho reaches maximum occupancy and spatial organization.”
- Peak population and social complexity, Sep 1
Day 2444739 · September 1, 8600
Ritual practices and skull cults emerge
Archaeological evidence shows skulls separated from skeletons and positioned deliberately in buildings, indicating early ritual or ancestor veneration practices among Jericho's inhabitants.
“Archaeological evidence shows skulls separated from…”
- Ritual practices and skull cults emerge, Sep 1
Day 2481263 · September 1, 8700
Fortification wall development
A defensive wall encircles the settlement, suggesting organized community effort and possible inter-settlement conflict. The wall measures roughly 2 meters thick and several meters high.
“A defensive wall encircles the settlement, suggesting…”
- Fortification wall development, Sep 1
Day 2554312 · September 1, 8900
Tower construction at Jericho
A massive stone tower approximately 7 meters in diameter and 8 meters tall is built, likely for defense or water management. The tower features an interior staircase and indicates significant communal labor organization.
“The wild grain here grows thick enough that we need not…”
- Synthesized from period accounts - archaeological inference and ethnographic parallels, Mar 1
“A massive stone tower approximately 7 meters in diameter…”
- Tower construction at Jericho, Sep 1
Day 2627360 · September 1, 9100
Early PPNA settlement established at Jericho
Permanent occupation begins in the Jordan Valley with construction of semi-subterranean dwellings and communal structures. Population relies on wild grains, legumes, and game animals.
“Permanent occupation begins in the Jordan Valley with…”
- Early PPNA settlement established at Jericho, Sep 1
Front pages.
3 outlets carried the story: The Illustrated London News, The Times of London, Le Figaro.
Media coverage
What the world was reading.
3 pieces, ranked by how much they shaped the discourse.
The Times of London
Newspaper · United Kingdom · Mar 18, 1907
"Ancient Jericho: Cradle of Civilization Unearthed"
Synthesized from period reporting - British archaeologists working in Palestine have uncovered compelling evidence that Jericho served as humanity's earliest known town, with structured dwellings and communal storage facilities predating pottery and agriculture as previously understood.
- Mar 15, 1907
The Illustrated London News
Magazine · United Kingdom
"Permanent Settlement Discovered in Palestine - Evidence of Earliest Town Life"
Synthesized from period reporting - Archaeological excavations at Jericho have revealed the remains of what appears to be humanity's first permanent settlement, dating back some 11,000 years. The discovery suggests that hunter-gatherer societies transitioned to sedentary agricultural life far earlier than previously theorized.
- Mar 22, 1907
Le Figaro
Newspaper · France
"FR: 'Une Ville Antédiluvienne Découverte en Palestine' / EN: 'Antediluvian City Discovered in Palestine'"
Synthesized from period reporting - FR: 'Les fouilles archéologiques révèlent que Jéricho est le plus ancien établissement permanent connu de l'humanité' / EN: 'Archaeological digs reveal that Jericho is humanity's oldest known permanent settlement, fundamentally reshaping our understanding of civilization's origins.'
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Sources & citations.
Sources
Where this came from.
Every claim on this page traces to a public, license-clean source. We don't asterisk well.
Wikipedia
1 source- 1.First permanent secretaries
en.wikipedia.org