The Jericho Archaeological Project is investigating how agriculture and settled life began at Jericho in the Jordan Valley 10,000 years ago. There is a need to determine the ecology and natural resources of the region to better understand what attracted the early inhabitants to the area. Previous field studies have provided a preliminary understanding of the surface topography, water resources, and current patterns of land-use in the Jericho area.
This phase of the larger Project entails combining satellite imagery of the lower Jordan Valley with existing digital data of the area. It is anticipated that this powerful analytical technique will illuminate our understanding of the present-day configuration of the region and human use of the landscape. Results of the analysis will be checked in the field, which should lead to further laboratory analysis. The combination of field and lab work should provide both detailed, and landscape, views of the Jericho region. With this improved understanding of the current environment, there will be a better foundation for future research to work back into the past in order to understand the inception and continuation of a settled, farming way of life in the Jericho area.