Tel Hanaton (Hebrew: תל חנתון; Arabic: تل بدويه, romanized: Tal Badawiye, lit. 'the nomads' tell') is an archaeological tell situated at the western edge of the Beit Netofa Valley, in the western Lower Galilee region of Israel, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the Town of Kfar Manda and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) northeast of the kibbutz which took its name, Hanaton.

During most of the Late Bronze Age, the region of Canaan was under the control of Egypt, either as provinces and city-states ruled by Egyptian Governors; or by vassal Canaanite kings who paid annual homage (tribute) to the ruling Pharaoh. It is possible that the city was named for Pharaoh Amenhotep IV also known by the name Akhenaten, the founder of a brief period of monotheism (Atenism) from the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt during 1352-1334 BC. The name Hanaton (pronounced Khanaton) and the name Akhenaten have identical consonants, which in the Semitic languages of the period are more significant than vowels, which may vary.^{[citation needed]}

Tel Hanaton is associated with the biblical Hanaton (KJV spelling: Hannathon), mentioned in The Book of Joshua in the lands apportioned to the tribe of Zebulon (Zevulun).

The tell rises to 75 metres (246 ft) above the surrounding valley, part of which represents the stratification layers on which the Bronze Age and later settlements were built on a natural rock outcrop.^{[citation needed]}

The site has easy access to water sources; nearby forested areas for wood; limestone hills to quarry for building materials and tools; fertile surrounding arable land for crops and livestock; the presence of clay for pottery in the muddy earth surrounding the tel caused by seasonal flooding; the natural rock outcrop raised above its surroundings for easy fortification. It was also located on the international trade route of the Bronze Age - a branch of the Via Maris.^{[citation needed]}

Archaeologists believe the main settlement phase dates to the Middle Bronze Age.^{[citation needed]}

The area of the Bronze Age city reached 100 dunams (approx. 25 acres), which attests to the power and wealth of the settlement, most likely achieved due to the large tracts of highly fertile arable land surrounding the tell in the Beit Netofa Valley, together with its position astride a major 'Egypt-to-Mesopotamia' international trade route for the period, named Via Maris by modern historians.^{[citation needed]}

The city is mentioned as 'Hinnatuna' in the 14th-century BC Amarna Letters of Ancient Egypt, showing its importance on a major trade route.^{[citation needed]}