I hope they can do a DNA study so the mystery of exactly who the Caananites were can be discovered.
They are descendants of Ham. From Canaan naturally came the Canaanite clans - Sidon, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. (Genesis 10:15). According to the Bible account, "Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha." (Genesis 10:19). It's in this described area that the conflict between the Israelites and the "peoples of the land" began, and has continued right to the present day.
Ham was one of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Biblically, we are all descendants of one of them, but most likely a mixture of all three and their wives. We can only assume they tried to bred out as much as was possible in order to prevent inbreeding problems.