ABSTRACT

The previous chapters have discussed various aspects of Canaanite, Philistine, and Israelite interaction, and have examined the impact of the two former groups on the Israelites' emerging ethnicity. A re-examination of some material traits, particularly certain aspects of the ceramic repertoire of the time, can shed more light on the complex relationship between the various ethnic groups in existence during the Iron Age I, specifically the differences between the relationship the Israelites (or proto-Israelites, denoting the Israelites and other totemic groups in the highlands then) had with the Philistines as compared to that with the Canaanites.