On the other hand, petrographic analyses on Syrian-inspired forms from Troy have
revealed a fabric that is not local to the Troad, though the study could not conclude
whether the fabric is of Syrian origin (Knacke-Loy et al. 1995 : 170 ). A more extensive
program of ED-XRF or SEM-EDS petrographic analysis is needed on Syrian Bottles
from across Anatolia and northern Syria, to begin to determine if and how far these
forms traveled.
Oil did circulate in EBA networks of long distance exchange. The Ebla archives
record the export of olive oil regionally, as far as Emar on the Middle Euphrates
(Pettinato 1981 : 162 ; see Figure 26. 1 ). The long distance exchange of oil might be
considered in the light of specific habitats for oil-bearing plants. Olive trees for example
cannot thrive far from the sea, and date palms flourish in alluvial environments
in deserts. Neither can be harvested in the interior regions of the Anatolian peninsula.
Perhaps communities in these interior regions acquired a taste for exotic oils during
the EBA; and perhaps these oils circulated to and across Anatolia in Syrian Bottle
forms.
The transport of Syrian Bottles is evoked in the most extraordinary examples of their
kind, all identified in Anatolia. Zimmermann has highlighted an egg-shaped form
from Level 13 at Kültepe and an alabaster shaped form from Level 12. Both were manu-
factured with relief surface treatment that is highly suggestive of netting. Zimmermann
( 2005 : 164 , 2006 ) convincingly proposes that this surface treatment evokes the cradling
or suspension of Syrian Bottles in a net, which may reveal one way that Syrian Bottles
were transported overland. Thus the net pattern may have been another way to convey
the distances that Syrian Bottle forms traveled.
A gold Syrian Bottle from Treasure A at Troy shows the same incised net pattern
(Zimmermann 2006 ; see Antonova et. al. 1996 : fig. 32 ). Metal Syrian Bottles have been
identified in additional contexts in EBA Anatolia, including a silver alabastron form
from the “EB III Burnt House” hoard at Eskiyapar (Özgüç and Temizer 1993 ), and
numerous lead examples from the neighboring cemeteries of Demircihöyük-Sariket
and Küçükhöyük-Bozhöyük, (Baykal-Seeher and Seeher 1998 : figs. 1 – 9 ). Metal versions
of Syrian Bottles may have traveled over longer distances than their ceramic counter-
parts, not least because the metal container itself would have been a more desirable and
negotiable commodity, just as it would have better endured the hardships of long
distance, overland exchange (cf. Sherratt and Taylor 1997 ).
The vast distribution of Syrian Bottle forms should be considered in light of two
related trends: 1 ) the transport of desirable liquid commodities, which probably
included regionally distinctive oils that were valued for their exoticness; 2 ) an ethos of
self-presentation that included an appropriate, cosmetic use for these liquids, with
potential also for exotic associations. Thus potential for emulation first and exchange
of commodities second best explains the east to west transmission of the Syrian Bottle
form. Similarly, the ceramic trend of the Syrian Bottle was likely influenced by metal
variants of these forms that would have traveled greater distances than their ceramic
counterparts.
Metal and the standardization of value
Metal is a promising but difficult material with which to reconstruct dynamics of
exchange in EBA Anatolia. Metal and metal forms have been highlighted in EBA–– Christoph Bachhuber ––