Area of Palestine – Who came first?

Posted 20 September, 2026

We will proceed chronologically.

The Canaanites represent the earliest known umbrella designation for the sedentary populations that established cities and city-states in the region during the Bronze Age (c. 3000–1200 BCE). Prior to this period, hunter-gatherers and early agriculturalists inhabited the region (such as the Natufian culture, which established Jericho over 10,000 years ago); however, the Canaanites constitute the earliest named and culturally defined population attested in historical sources.

Chronological Succession of Inhabitants

To understand this historical progression, historians and archaeologists typically periodize the early populations as follows:

The Natufians and Early Agriculturalists (c. 12,000–4000 BCE)

The region’s earliest sedentary inhabitants. They constructed the world’s oldest known fortified settlement, Jericho.
The Canaanites (c. 3000–1200 BCE)

A Semitic-speaking population comprising various tribes and city-states (such as the Jebusites, Amorites, and Hittites). They controlled the region until the end of the Bronze Age. Archaeogenetic studies on ancient DNA indicate that both contemporary Jews and contemporary Levantines/Palestinians carry a substantial proportion of Canaanite ancestry.
The Israelites and the Philistines (c. 1200–500 BCE)
- The Israelites: Emerged in the central highlands around 1200–1000 BCE. Archaeological evidence indicates they arose largely from local Canaanite populations, supplemented by nomadic groups moving into the area. They established the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
- The Philistines: A seafaring population originating from the Aegean Sea (modern-day Greece) who migrated and settled along the southern coastal plain (Gaza, Ashkelon) around 1200 BCE.
Subsequent Populations and Empires

The region was conquered and populated in successive waves by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs (from the 7th century CE onward), Crusaders, Ottomans, and the British.

Religious History of the Levant

The religious history of the Levant (encompassing present-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan) traces a long evolution from prehistoric animism to Canaanite polytheism, progressing to Jewish monotheism, and ultimately to Christianity and Islam.

Chronology of Religious Development

The respective populations, their initial belief systems, and the subsequent religious traditions adopted by their descendants:

The Natufians (c. 12,000–9500 BCE)
- Contemporary Beliefs: Animism and ancestor veneration. The Natufians predated organized religion and written pantheons. They were among the earliest to inter their dead in designated burial sites. They practiced sophisticated funerary rites, adorned the deceased with shells and animal bones, and in some instances curated skulls—likely as part of an ancestor cult. Archaeological finds also suggest shamanic practices.
- Subsequent Religious Evolution: The Natufian population formed the genetic and cultural foundation for the early agriculturalists in the Levant. Consequently, their descendants eventually evolved into the Canaanites.
The Canaanites (c. 3000–1200 BCE)
- Contemporary Beliefs: Canaanite polytheism. They worshiped an extensive pantheon of deities. The supreme deity was El (the creator), alongside his consort Asherah (the mother goddess). The most active and widely venerated deity was Baal (god of storms and fertility). Ritual practices included agricultural and animal sacrifices at high places and in temples.
- Subsequent Religious Evolution: The Canaanites did not vanish without a trace. Those who remained in the highland interiors evolved into the Israelites and gradually adopted monotheism (Judaism). Those residing along the northern coast became known as the Phoenicians. Over the course of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the local population was Christianized and subsequently Islamized.
The Amorites, Jebusites, and Hittites (c. 2000–1000 BCE)

These groups constituted sub-entities or neighboring populations to the Canaanites during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age:
- Amorites: A Semitic people from the Syrian Desert who expanded across Mesopotamia and Canaan.
  - Beliefs: Semitic polytheism. They worshiped the storm god Amurru alongside the broader Canaanite and Mesopotamian pantheon (such as the sun god Shamash).
- Jebusites: The Canaanite tribe that inhabited and ruled the city of Jebus (which later became Jerusalem) prior to its conquest by King David around 1000 BCE.
  - Beliefs: Canaanite polytheism. They worshiped local tutelary deities (including the god Shalem, from whom the name Jerusalem partially derives).
- Hittites (and Neo-Hittites): Originally an Indo-European people from Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) who established a major empire and maintained settlements in northern Canaan.
  - Beliefs: Anatolian polytheism. The Hittites were renowned for their “pantheon of a thousand gods,” as they absorbed local deities from conquered territories, including the Sun Goddess of Arinna and the weather god Teshub.
- Subsequent Religious Evolution: With the rise of the Israelite kingdoms and subsequent imperial conquests by Assyria and Babylon, these minority groups were fully assimilated. Their localized cults ceased to exist, and their descendants merged into the general population, becoming Jewish, Christian, or Muslim over time.
The Philistines (c. 1200–600 BCE)
- Contemporary Beliefs: Aegean-Canaanite syncretism. Originating from the Aegean region, they initially brought Aegean deities (including a mother goddess archetype). Over time, they adopted local Semitic deities, adopting Dagon (a deity of grain and agriculture) and Astarte as primary deities.
- Subsequent Religious Evolution: Following the Babylonian destruction of their cities in the 6th century BCE, the Philistines lost their distinct cultural identity and were assimilated. The inhabitants of the coastal plain during the Roman and Byzantine eras later converted to Christianity, and predominantly to Islam from the 7th century CE onward.
The Israelites / Jews (c. 1200 BCE onward)
- Early Beliefs (1200–600 BCE): Monolatry / Henotheism. Early Israelites acknowledged the existence of multiple deities while maintaining that they owed exclusive worship to their national deity, Yahweh (YHWH). For centuries, a religious tension persisted, with elements of the population continuing to venerate Baal and Asherah alongside Yahweh.
- Subsequent Beliefs (c. 500 BCE onward): Absolute Monotheism (Judaism). In the wake of the Babylonian Exile, classical Judaism crystallized, affirming that Yahweh was not merely a national protector, but the sole God of the universe. Judaism has persisted as an uninterrupted monotheistic tradition into the modern era.

Summary of Regional Religious Shifts

Epoch	Dominant Religious Form in the Region
Prehistory (> 10,000 BCE)	Animism, ancestor veneration (Natufian culture)
Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE)	Polytheism (Canaanite, Hittite, and Amorite pantheons: El, Baal, Asherah)
Iron Age (1200–500 BCE)	Transition: Polytheism gradually superseded by Israelite monotheism (Judaism)
Antiquity (Roman/Byzantine) (0–600 CE)	Judaism supplemented and eventually surpassed by Christianity as the dominant state religion
Medieval to Modern Era(600 CE–present)	Islam becomes the majority faith following the Arab conquests, alongside continuous indigenous Jewish and Christian minority populations

Who Inhabited the Land First?

The resolution depends on whether the question addresses cultural/religious identity or genetic/demographic ancestry, as both groups possess ancient roots in the region.

In brief: A distinct Jewish identity emerged in the region approximately 1,800 to 2,000 years before a distinct Arab identity developed there. Simultaneously, both populations descend largely from the same indigenous inhabitants who resided in the area from antiquity.

1. From a Cultural and Historical Perspective: The Jews Were Present First

Regarding the emergence of distinct identities, languages, and religions within the region:

The Jews (Israelites): Emerged as a distinct ethnic, cultural, and religious entity in the highlands of Canaan around 1200–1000 BCE. They established their earliest kingdoms (Israel and Judah) there during the Iron Age and formulated Jewish monotheism in situ.
The Arabs: Arab identity and the Arabic language developed originally on the Arabian Peninsula. While Arab tribes appear in historical records around the 9th century BCE, the linguistic and cultural Arabization of the Levant occurred following the Arab-Islamic conquests in the 7th century CE (approximately 1,800 years after the emergence of the Israelites).

2. From a Genetic and Demographic Perspective: Equivalent Timeframes

Regarding biological descent (the continuous human population residing on the land), neither group predates the other; rather, both descend from the region’s earliest inhabitants:

Shared Ancestry: The earliest sedentary populations in the region were the Canaanites (and the Natufians prior to them). Modern archaeogenetic research demonstrates that both contemporary Jews and Palestinian Arabs carry a substantial proportion of Canaanite DNA.
Continuity:
- The Israelites crystallized out of the indigenous Canaanite population around 1200 BCE.
- The local Arab (Palestinian) population primarily descends from the same local demographic strata (Canaanites, Israelites, Arameans) that continuously inhabited the region through the centuries. Over time, this population shifted linguistically to Aramaic, converted to Christianity during the Roman/Byzantine periods, and subsequently adopted Arabic and predominantly Islam from the 7th century CE onward.

Synthesis

Genetic/Biological: Both groups descend from the same ancestral indigenous population (the Canaanites) who built the region’s earliest urban centers over 4,000 years ago.
Cultural, Religious, and Historical: The Jews/Israelites were established first (c. 1200 BCE, compared to the arrival of Arab cultural dominance in the 7th century CE).

Relationship to the Modern Population

Determining who was “first” is inherently complex because conquest historically resulted in gradual cultural and demographic blending rather than total population replacement:

The Jewish people trace their ethnic, cultural, and religious origins directly to the early Israelite kingdoms of Judah and Israel.
The Palestinian population primarily descends from the indigenous groups (Canaanites, Israelites, Arameans, etc.) who remained in the region throughout successive empires, gradually adopting Christianity under Byzantine rule, and later undergoinig Arabization and Islamization from the 7th century CE onward.

It is accurate to state that the Jewish people established a distinct presence in the region prior to the arrival of Arab culture and identity.

Primary Source: Swedish Institute of International Affairs (Utrikespolitiska institutet)