Editing Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (section)

==Settlements==
[[File:Climate and Post-Glacial expansion in the Near East.jpg|thumb|upright=2|Evolution of temperatures in the Post-Glacial period according to Greenland ice cores. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic corresponds to the period of warming of the [[Holocene]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zalloua |first1=Pierre A. |last2=Matisoo-Smith |first2=Elizabeth |date=6 January 2017 |title=Mapping Post-Glacial expansions: The Peopling of Southwest Asia |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=7 |pages=40338 |bibcode=2017NatSR...740338P |doi=10.1038/srep40338 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=5216412 |pmid=28059138}}</ref>]]
[[File:Calibrated Carbon 14 dates for Gesher as of 2013.jpg|thumb|Calibrated Carbon 14 dates for [[Gesher (archaeological site)|Gesher]], the earliest known Neolithic site as of 2013.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shukurov |first1=Anvar |last2=Sarson |first2=Graeme R. |last3=Gangal |first3=Kavita |date=7 May 2014 |title=The Near-Eastern Roots of the Neolithic in South Asia |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=Appendix S1 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...995714G |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0095714 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=4012948 |pmid=24806472 |doi-access=free}}</ref>]]
[[File:Reliefs of animals, Göbekli Tepe Layer III, circa 9000 BCE.jpg|thumb|Reliefs of animals, Göbekli Tepe Layer III (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A), {{circa|9000&nbsp;BCE}}.]]
PPNA archaeological sites are much larger than those of the preceding Natufian hunter-gatherer culture, and contain traces of communal structures, such as the famous [[Tower of Jericho]]. PPNA settlements are characterized by round, semi-subterranean houses with stone foundations and [[terrazzo]]-floors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fujii |first=Sumio |date=2024-03-25 |title=Settlement Pattern and Periodization of the Jordanian Badia Early PPNB: A Fresh Approach to the PPNA/PPNB Transition Issue in the Southern Levant |url=https://journals.openedition.org/paleorient/3582 |journal=Paléorient. Revue pluridisciplinaire de préhistoire et de protohistoire de l'Asie du Sud-Ouest et de l'Asie centrale |volume=49-2 |language=en |issue=49–2 |pages=109–134 |doi=10.4000/paleorient.3582 |issn=0153-9345|doi-access=free }}</ref> The upper walls were constructed of unbaked clay [[mudbrick]]s with plano-convex cross-sections. The [[hearth]]s were small and covered with cobbles. Heated rocks were used in cooking, which led to an accumulation of fire-cracked rock in the buildings, and almost every settlement contained storage bins made of either stones or mud-brick.

As of 2013, [[Gesher (archaeological site)|Gesher]], modern Israel, became the earliest known of all known Neolithic sites (PPNA), with a calibrated [[Carbon 14]] date of 10,459 BCE ± 348 years, analysis suggesting that it may have been the starting point of a [[Neolithic Revolution]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last1=Shukurov |first1=Anvar |last2=Sarson |first2=Graeme R. |last3=Gangal |first3=Kavita |date=7 May 2014 |title=The Near-Eastern Roots of the Neolithic in South Asia |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=e95714 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...995714G |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0095714 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=4012948 |pmid=24806472 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A contemporary site is [[Mureybet]] in modern [[Syria]].<ref name="auto"/>

One of the most notable PPNA settlements is [[Jericho]], thought to be the world's first town ({{c.|9,000}} BCE).<ref name="gates2003">{{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Charles |title="Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Aegean Cities", Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-01895-1 |page=18 |quote=Jericho, in the Jordan River Valley in the West Bank, inhabited from {{circa|9000&nbsp;BC}} to the present day, offers important evidence for the earliest permanent settlements in the Near East.}}</ref> The PPNA town contained a population of up to 2–3000 people and was protected by a massive stone wall and tower. There is much debate over the function of the wall, for there is no evidence of any serious warfare at this time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mithen |first=Steven |title=After the ice : a global human history, 20,000–5,000 BC |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-674-01999-7 |edition=1st|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=59}}</ref> One possibility is the wall was built to protect the salt resources of Jericho.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9043547/Jericho "Jericho"], [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]</ref> It has also been proposed that the tower caught the shadow of the largest nearby mountain on [[summer solstice]] in order to create a sense of power in support of whatever hierarchy ruled the town's inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Liran |first1=Roy |last2=Barkai |first2=Ran |date=March 2011 |title=Casting a shadow on Neolithic Jericho |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/barkai327/ |publisher=Antiquitey Journal, Volume 85, Issue 327}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="4">
File:Ziko.jpg|The [[Tower of Jericho]] was built at the end of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, {{circa|8000&nbsp;BCE}}.
File:Jericho Statue.png|Ancestor Statue, [[Jericho]], from {{circa|9000}} years ago. [[Rockefeller Museum]], [[Jerusalem]].
File:Urfa man.jpg|The [[Urfa Man]] {{circa|9000&nbsp;BCE}}.<ref name="RJC">{{Cite book |last1=Chacon |first1=Richard J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhT1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 |title=Feast, Famine or Fighting?: Multiple Pathways to Social Complexity |last2=Mendoza |first2=Rubén G. |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3319484020 |pages=120 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Klaus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3yUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT291 |title=Premier temple. Göbekli tepe (Le): Göbelki Tepe |date=2015 |publisher=CNRS Editions |isbn=978-2271081872 |page=291 |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="AC">{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q1koDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT66 |title=Gobekli Tepe: Genesis of the Gods: The Temple of the Watchers and the Discovery of Eden |date=2014 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1591438359 |page=66 |language=en}}</ref> [[Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Mosaic Museum]].
File:Plastered Skull from the Levant.jpg|Human [[Plastered human skulls|plastered head]] from the Levant during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic phases.
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