The focus of this paper is on the rise of settlements during Early Hellenistic Period in the region of the lake Galilee in Israel. My study is based on the recent result of the excavation at the site of Ein Gev, which is located on the eastern shore of lake Galilee. R. Smith has recently pointed out the cultural break in southern Levant during the Early Hellenistic Period (1990), but excavations of several sites, including Ein Gev, on the coast of lake Galilee revealed some traces of human activity in this period as well as in tha Late Hellenistic Period (K. Makino in print). My examination of the change in the settlement pattern from Early Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period in the coastal area of Galilee, shows the following; 1) Every site includes only two or three periods of occupation; 2) There is no site occupied in Middle Bronze Age II Period; 3) There are one or two sites which represent the area in each period except Middle Bronze Age Period. These findings, which draw a different picture from the change of settlement pattern in the other area in the southern Levant, lead me to the hypothesis that there is a unique settelement pattern applied only to the lake area which is suitable for cultivation, fisheries and transportation. I further argue that the advantages of the lake environment brought settlements arise in the Early Hellenistic Period as well.

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