The origin of Caliciform Ware in inland Northern Syria during the Mid-third Millennium BC : A view from Tell Mardikh/Ebla and Hama

Concurrent with urban expansion, a major change in ceramic production is observable in a number of sites within inland northern Syria during the third millennium BC. The marked regional character of pottery assemblages during the first half of the third millennium BC gives way to an increased omogenisation in the morphological repertoire and an improvement of manufacturing techniques in the second half of the millennium. Some general features characterising the EB IVA ceramic horizon of western inland Syria are the appearance of specialised fine wares (particularly the so-called ‘Caliciform Ware’ with its related repertoire of drinking and pouring vessels) and the high degree of standardisation in vessel production (well-controlled firing atmospheres, standardised vessel profiles and selected clay pastes). These major changes in pottery technology and morphological repertoires (with an emphasis on drinking vessels) occurring around the mid-third millennium BC argue in favour of similar developments taking place concurrently in northern and central Syria reflecting major socio-political changes. The aim of this chapter is to analyse the evidence for the widespread diffusion of Caliciform Ware, signalling the fresh adoption of innovative commensality practices, and to address this relationship with the formation of urban elites. It will be shown that the diffusion of Caliciform Ware is a synchronic phenomenon, the origins of which can be traced back to the mid-third millennium BC both in the middle Orontes valley and in inland northern Syria.