The paper reevaluates the Egyptian–Canaanite interface during the Late Bronze Age based on archaeological evidence for intercultural discourses. Southwestern Canaanite local elite and the Egyptian court were interconnected in patronage relationships for centuries and the exposure of the locals to the Egyptian culture (both in Egypt and in Egyptian colonies along the Levantine coast) led to appropriation of various Egyptian practices that changed local consumption habits, cultic traditions and imagery. It is suggested that protracted Egyptian hegemony and constant appropriation, performance and consumption of Egyptian practices created a local elite social network whose power and ideology were founded on and were legitimized through interactions with the Egyptians.
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