What was Canaanite religion like during the Middle Bronze Age, at the time of the biblical patriarchs? This volume presents a theoretical model for identifying ritual behavior in the archaeological record, providing a test case using the rich material culture and structures that have been unearthed at the biblical city of Gerar (Tel Haror, Israel). The analysis of these finds presents a revealing glimpse into the elaborate rituals that the Canaanites enjoyed in their communities.
Canaanite public ritual life was centered around a temple and its courtyards. It was here that priests performed rituals within the temple while people gathered in the courtyards to watch animals being sacrificed on altars, to smell burning incense, and to offer other foods sometimes in miniature votive vessels. Upon completion of the sacrifices, the people remained in the courtyards and adjoining rooms to enjoy their ritual meals. It is here that the archaeological evidence strongly attests to the cooking, serving, and consuming of foods and beverages. Canaanites also used their sacred areas for rituals of healing (involving puppies) and for the sanctifying of treaties (using donkeys).