https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22260 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 03:57:52 GMT 2026-04-30T03:57:52Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22383 Between Inclusion and Exclusion D'Anna, Maria Bianca The redistribution of meals and feasting practices in the early centralized society of Arslantepe VI A in south-eastern Anatolia (Late Chalcolithic 5 – 3300/3000 cal. BCE) are presented in this paper as examples of commensal politics. Within the framework of Mesopotamian early state formation, this period represents a stimulating case because of the evidence of economic centralization, the significant amount of materials found in in situ contexts, and the presence of functionally distinct architecture. Food and beverages were the economic base of the power of elites; yet it is not only through feasting activities that food enters Late Chalcolithic gastro-politics, but also through the meals disbursed in exchange for labor Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22383 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22397 Commensality and Labor in Terminal Ubaid Northern Mesopotamia Kennedy, Jason R. Recent anthropological research on commensality has emphasized how food consumption creates and mediates social relations and social identities. The goal of this paper is to integrate the oten neglected study of production and labor into studies of commensality. I will explore the commensal relationships formed by the consumption of food during cooperative communal work events through a discussion of the Terminal Ubaid levels from three sites in northern Mesopotamia. I have suggested that flint-scraped bowls were used to provide for extra-household labor recruited during times of labor shortage by households of similar social standing, while painted ceramics were used for daily food consumption. In this scenario flint-scraped bowls were used in different social contexts by people of similar social standing. Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22397 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22320 Defining and Transgressing the Boundaries between Ritual Commensality and Daily Commensal Practices Otto, Adelheid Ritual commensality is a well documented social practice in texts and visual arts of the Ancient Near East. However, no information about daily commensality can be derived from these sources. The mere fact that a daily procedure as simple as eating and drinking was depicted hints at the meaning of this scene as a social event with a high symbolic value, while ordinary daily meals never seem to be represented. This paper argues that in everyday life, the boundaries between ritual and daily commensality were oten floating. In order to acquire information on daily commensal practice and on the differences to ritual commensality, the architectonic and the more unspectacular archaeological remains at the Mesopotamian site of Tall Bazi are investigated. Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22320 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22354 Eating at Home and "Dining" Out? Balossi Restelli, Francesca This paper attempts to draw a picture of different kinds of commensalities in the Near Eastern Pottery Neolithic (7th millennium BC) through an analysis of consumption vessels. The case study will be the Syrian and Turkish regions of the Northern Levant. I shall underline the strong symbolic function of vessels in distinguishing commensal events and argue that the basic role of commensality remains largely unmodified until the end of the Ubaid period (2nd half of the 5th millennium BC). The beginning of the Late Chalcolithic then marks a major change. At this point, the development of different types of commensalities leads to a decrease in the role of pottery as symbolic marker of commensal events. Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22354 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z