**6. Conclusions**

Here, we have asked with reference to religion: What can archaeology do; and, what can it not do? We have stressed that archaeology's main contribution to the study of ancient Israelite religion is to provide a "real-life" context, for both the biblical text and its ideals, as well as for widespread religious practices that may not always be in accordance. However, even the most comprehensive archaeological data cannot explain, much less legitimize, Scripture and the religion it enshrines. Archaeology is descriptive, not prescriptive.

#### **7. Notes**

The general literature on archaeology and cult is beyond our purview here. Many of the recent discussion are part of the "archaeology of mind", "cognitive", or "cognitive-processsual" movements in the post-processual era (that is, since the 1990s). See (Hodder 1988; especially Renfrew 1982; Renfrew 1985; Renfrew 1994; Renfrew 2007; Renfrew et al. 1994; Bell 1997; Kyriakidis 2007. See also literature on "history from things", as Kingery 1996). Nevertheless, specific case-studies where there newer models have proven to be superior in "reading the past" are relatively rare.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.

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