Ancient Israel did not emerge within a vacuum but rather came to exist alongside various peoples, including
Canaanites, Egyptians, and Philistines. Indeed, Israel�s very proximity to these groups has made it difficult�until
now�to distinguish the archaeological traces of early Israel and other contemporary groups. Through an analysis
of the results from recent excavations in light of relevant historical and later biblical texts, this book proposes
that it is possible to identify these peoples and trace culturally or ethnically defined boundaries in the archaeological
record. Features of late second-millennium B.C.E. culture are critically examined in their historical and biblical
contexts in order to define the complex social boundaries of the early Iron Age and reconstruct the diverse material
world of these four peoples. Of particular value to scholars, archaeologists, and historians, this volume will
also be a standard reference and resource for students and other readers interested in the emergence of early Israel.
Ann E. Killebrew, Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies at The Pennsylvania
State University, is a seasoned field archaeologist and co-editor of Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology: The First
Temple Period (Society of Biblical Literature, 2003).
�While ostensibly written for nonspecialists, or teachers looking for a reliable textbook, Killebrew�s book will
be used widely by her fellow archaeologists. That is because it highlights a number of current and controversial
issues, with a comprehensive and balanced discussion, accompanied by exhaustive documentation. This is a superb
handbook that in my estimation will have a very long shelf life�quite an achievement by a relatively young archaeologist
and one who like so many of her generation might be dismissed as �too specialized.� � Killebrew�s study of archaeology
and ethnicity is exceptionally timely, and because it succeeds on both the academic and the nonprofessional level,
it deserves and will surely find a wide audience.�
�W. G. Dever, Review of Biblical Literature
�Ann E. Killebrew, in Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity, has written a masterful synthesis of enormous amounts of
data derived from literary, linguistic, epigraphic, archaeological, and other sources from the last century of
research in a quite measured and always respectful tone (which has often not been the case in this field of study).
Hers is a marvelous book, somewhere between a primer for college undergraduates and a specialist monograph. Perhaps
the most important gifts that this book brings to the table are its detailed footnotes and extensive bibliography.�
� Edward J. Mills III, International Social Science Review