stele also distinguishes Israel and Canaan. In short, Israelite culture was largely “Canaanite” in nature. Given the information available, one cannot maintain a radical cultural separation between “Canaanites” and Israelites for the Iron I period. To be sure, the early history of Israel was extremely complex, and establishing ethnic continuity or discontinuity is impossible for this period. Some distinctions probably existed among the various groups inhabiting the highlands and valleys and coastal