**1. Introduction**

Numerous excavations and a fairly large number of contemporary written documents give us a good picture of the religious system and cult practices in Canaan1 during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–1180 BCE). Most of this period was characterized by an Egyptian dominance and influence over large parts of the Southern Levant, and though not a significant core area, Canaan served as a cultural and commercial crossroads of the region that was essential to Egyptian strategic and economic goals in the area. The study of the extensive Amarna archive discovered in Egypt2 teaches us that during the fourteenth century BCE, Canaan was divided into c. 20 major city-states. These city-states were independent territorial units held by a local ruler who inherited his status from his ancestors and was recognized by the Egyptian authorities, who provided for his protection and well-being. Some have suggested (see below) that the interaction between the Canaanite and Egyptian cultures may have influenced the cult practices in Canaan, especially during the end of the period, when the Egyptians increased their physical presence in the region.

<sup>1</sup> The term "Canaan" is a geopolitical entity that includes Israel, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and southern Syria. It is possible to identify, archaeologically speaking, a second-millennium material culture in this region that has many features in common. The term "Canaanites" does not represent an ethnic entity, but rather a group of people who share a common culture and live within a region that was defined by others as "Canaan". The geographic area studied here is somewhat more restricted than the general Canaanite area described above, and includes sites within the modern state of Israel, as well as in the Palestinian Authority.

<sup>2</sup> This archive contained a collection of hundreds of cuneiform tablets that testify to the wide-ranging international commerce and political networks which existed during the period (e.g., Bunimovitz 1995; Moran 1992, p. 124; Finkelstein 1996; Goren et al. 2004).

The paper will begin by presenting a background on Canaanite religion and cultic activities based on texts of the period. Following the textual background, I will move on to describe Late Bronze Age archaeological finds which are related to cult activities—mainly temples and other smaller religious paraphernalia. The paper will end with a short summary of our current understanding pertaining to the Canaanite religion and cult during the Late Bronze Age.
