(Klengel 1992 : 22 ; Akkermans and Schwartz 2003 : 239 ). Finely crafted art objects
discovered in Ebla’s Palace G comprise many Sumerian motifs and styles (Matthiae
1981 : 79 – 81 ). Most significantly, the discovery of large amounts of unworked lapis lazuli
in Palace G, a valuable semi-precious stone that had been obtained from as far away
as eastern Afghanistan, confirms that long-distance trade was being actively carried out.
The stone was probably being conveyed to Ebla via Sumer and the Euphrates’ city of
Mari, the principal gateway between southern Mesopotamia and the lands of Syria
(Pinnock 1988 : 110 )
Such connections between Sumer and western Syria and the middle Euphrates over
the many centuries of the third millennium BCalmost certainly had an impact on
Syria’s development, affecting its culture and society in a number of ways. Commercial
exchanges with Sumer stimulated economic growth, and introduced exotic and rare
materials that were used by various Syrian elite groups to set themselves apart in their
own communities and enhance their prestige and high status (Schwartz 1994 : 165 ). Also
appropriated were aspects of Sumerian elite social behaviour. Noteworthy in this
regard are elite drinking practices which find reflection in the growing preponderance
of drinking cups that have been found in late third millennium Syrian contexts,
particularly in parts of western Syria. Such goblets are tall and cylindrical, and often
corrugated or decorated with horizontal and wavy bands of paint. They have been
found in large quantities at Palace G at Ebla, suggesting they were part of the Ebla royal
establishment’s dining ware, likely serving as drinking cups for the consumption of
some liquid – possibly wine – at special banquets or ceremonies (Cooper 2007 : 44 ).
The propensity for drinking and postulated drinking celebrations are probably
attempts to emulate Sumerian drinking practices, these having frequently accompanied
successful harvests, the completion of temple construction projects to honour the gods,
or successful military ventures (Cooper 2007 : 44 ). Such activities are frequently repre-
sented as ‘banquet’ scenes on a number of Sumerian objects which include cylinder
seals, wall plaques and the famous Royal Standard of Ur (Pollock 2003 : 22 ). By
emulating this Sumerian behaviour, western Syrian individuals, mostly elites, were
endeavouring to link themselves to the cosmopolitan urban centres of southern
Mesopotamia, showing themselves to be part of that civilised community, and at the
same time, distinguishing themselves from the common people of their cities by
engaging in these types of exclusive parties (Bunimovitz and Greenberg 2004 : 27 ).WESTERN SYRIA/MIDDLE EUPHRATES’ DISTINCTIVE
CULTURAL TRADITIONS AND BELIEFS
As presented above, much of the contact between Sumer and western Syria and the
middle Euphrates seems to have been at the level of trade and communications with
local Syrian elites who were eager to legitimate and intensify their prestige and wealth
(Akkermans and Schwartz 2003 : 277 ). It is also likely that along with these elite
exchanges, general notions about what constitutes a city, with its various physical
features and urban modes of behaviour, were also transmitted, along with admini-
strative technologies such as cylinder seals (Stein 2004 : 72 ). At the same time, it is
difficult to argue that Sumerian culture and the Sumerian ‘way of doing things’ pene-
trated fully into Syrian society, affecting at a deeper level modes of social organisation,
political structures and ideological beliefs and practices. Indeed, despite contact with
–– Lisa Cooper ––