The Jerusalem area is not known for its prehistoric sites, as are the Jordan Valley and Mt. Carmel. However, the pioneers of archaeological research in the country were often stationed in Jerusalem and weekend surveys were almost a rule of thumb for interested scholars. Among the most important discoveries are a suite of Neolithic sites, scatters of Paleolithic hand axes, and the Acheulian site in Emek Rephaim. An accidental discovery in Bethlehem, followed by systematic excavations, uncovered fossil bones of extinct Lower Pleistocene fauna, including elephant, rhinoceros, three-toed horse, giraffe, wild boar, aurochs, and two carnivores. However, the oldest evidence for humans in the Jerusalem area is the Acheulian hand axes retrieved from gravels and colluvial deposits in several localities along the railway in Emek Rephaim. These rich occurrences were not dated directly, but by reference to other Upper Acheulian sites in the country they should be some 700,000–450,000 years old.

No Middle or Upper Paleolithic sites (250,000–20/18,000 years ago)—so well known from Mt. Carmel, the Galilee, and the Negev—were found locally, and the closest-dated finds are from caves, rock-shelters, and open-air sites in the Judean Desert. Only a few Middle Paleolithic objects were collected on Mt. Scopus in the 1930s.

At least two localities with a few stone tools attributed to the Epi-Paleolithic Kebaran culture (20/18,000–16,000 years ago) were discovered during salvage excavations in the Jerusalem area. Most of these tools are microliths that served as armatures. The major Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran sites are located on the coastal plain and in the Jordan Valley. These were semi-sedentary camps of hunter-gatherers who probably foraged during summer time in the hilly areas.

The exploitation of the open oak and pistachio forests in the Jerusalem area is indicated by the distribution of Neolithic sites. Beside the recently excavated settlement in Motza, dated mainly to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (ca. 10,500–8,200 cal B.P.), other localities were recorded during surface surveys. The proliferation of axes-adzes as a common tool type is indicative of wood-cutting and wood-working.

Hunting continued through all these periods and among the common game species were deer, gazelle, wild goat, wild boar, cattle, foxes, and wildcat. Although plant remains are poorly preserved in the Jerusalem area, it is well known from other sites in the country that barley, wheat, and pulses were already cultivated by Neolithic farmers.