Canaan's keen interest in Palestinian folklore, popular beliefs, and superstitions led him to collect over 1,400 amulets, and his published analyses of these and other folk traditions brought him recognition as an ethnographer and anthropologist.
Canaan's keen interest in Palestinian folklore, popular beliefs, and superstitions led to his collection of over 1,400 amulets, now held by Bir Zeit university in Ramallah. His published analyses of these and other folk traditions brought him recognition as an ethnographer and anthropologist.