The practice of Canaanite cult : the Middle and Late Bronze Ages

Abstract

This richly illustrated book explores Canaanite religion and ritual from an archaeological perspective. It sheds new light on the use of space within southern Levantine temples as well as the religious ideologies motivating the behavioral patterns identified in those cultic contexts. Religion and ritual are both universalistic and particularistic. The aim of this study is to arrive at a more holistic understanding of MB and LB religion in the southern Levant. To achieve this goal, this book is organized into three main parts: (1) where Canaanite cultic activities were conducted; (2) what activities and rituals were performed within Canaanite cultic spaces; and (3) why and how those activities were conducted in those spaces. The central thesis of this book is that Canaanite religion was remarkably responsive and adaptive and was reflective of the diversity of the various micro-regions in the southern Levant