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Courtesy of Douglas Esse

Settlements in Canaan proliferated in Iron Age I (1200–1000 B.C.E.), especially on terrain 600 meters or more above sea level. (Since this map was drawn, archaeologists have discovered many more Iron I sites in the hill country.) Professor Gottwald attributes this explosion of new settlements to a social revolution among the Canaanite underclass, some of whom were already living in the hills, while others joined them after moving from their homes in the plains.