a group of 11 inscriptions recovered from bowls and other utensils found in several archaeological sites in Palestine dating from approximately the 16th to 13th century BC. Because they have not as yet been satisfactorily deciphered, it is unclear whether or not the writing system used in these inscriptions is related to the North Semitic alphabet, which has been positively dated only to the 11th century BC but may be several centuries older. It is also unclear whether there is any connection between the Canaanite inscriptions and the Sinaitic inscriptions, but the theory that the Canaanite group forms a link between them and the North Semitic alphabet appears unlikely.