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 often 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
