Consuming power: Kamares Ware in Protopalatial Knossos.

Consuming power: Kamares Ware in Protopalatial Knossos. IntroductionAround 1900 BC, shortly after the beginning of Middle Minoan inceramic terms, the first palaces on Crete were constructed at Knossosand Phaistos (for locations see [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]).This marked the advent of what is known as the Protopalatial period.Despite the poor preservation of the early form of these palaces and aneven greater dearth of information regarding the settlements whichimmediately preceded them, the mobilization of labour implied by theappearance of such monumental architecture was taken to indicate awatershed in terms of societal complexity (Cherry 1986: 21, 27). Thepalaces and their contents have been seen as directly reflectingeconomic power and control in terms of the production and/orredistribution of agricultural goods and items of material culture(Renfrew 1972: 296-7).The appearance of the palaces marks the introduction of large,central buildings which use repeated architectural elements and formulaeto create ceremonial space. That these either housed or represented apowerful elite has formed a fulcrum fulcrum:see lever. for the interpretation of Middle andLate Bronze Age Bronze Age,period in the development of technology when metals were first used regularly in the manufacture of tools and weapons. Pure copper and bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, were used indiscriminately at first; this early period is sometimes called the (LBA (Logical Block Addressing) A method used to address hard disks by a single sector number rather than by cylinder, head and sector (CHS). LBA was introduced to support ATA/IDE drives as they reached 504MB, and Enhanced BIOSs in the PC translated CHS addressing into LBA ) society not only in Crete, but also in the broaderAegean world.An evolutionary view-point sees the introduction of the palaces asthe result of a progression from a relatively simple level ofsocio-economic organization, based on reciprocity reciprocityIn international trade, the granting of mutual concessions on tariffs, quotas, or other commercial restrictions. Reciprocity implies that these concessions are neither intended nor expected to be generalized to other countries with which the contracting parties , to a complex systemof the redistribution of goods whose circulation was effected andcontrolled by a central authority. The application of the label'palace' to a number of successive buildings spanning theMiddle and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age has obscured basicorganizational differences between them. It is undeniable that theLinear B administrative archive of LBA Knossos shows a central authoritycontrolling the movement of goods from outlying areas, as shown byspecialist craft workshops of that period. Yet the function of the finaluse of the LBA palace has formed the basis of the assumption that theearlier Protopalatial palace structures were used in a similar fashionas primarily storage and re-distribution centres for the produce of thehinterland and as craft production centres (Renfrew 1972: 296-7).While the exact size and plan of the palace at Knossos in itsoriginal form during Middle Minoan may never be reconstructable(MacGillivray 1994), the rich ceramic deposits associated withsuccessive phases of construction and rebuilding of this First Palaceprovide invaluable evidence for the meaning and function of the buildingand the surrounding settlement. Large deposits of drinking and pouringvessels were found both within the palace in successive destructionhorizons or outside, mainly as fills, the largest of which were sealedbeneath the later West Court of the new palace building. While none ofthis pottery appears to come from its primary context of use, itssizable quantities and function suggest some form of large-scale,possibly ceremonial consumption of drink.In this article we consider Kamares Ware: the high-quality,polychrome pol��y��chrome?adj.1. Having many or various colors; polychromatic.2. Made or decorated in many or various colors: polychrome tiles.n. decorated pottery which can be argued to be symbolic ofhierarchy and power in the Protopalatial period. The economic role ofthe Minoan palace is much debated, although most argue for its role as acentre of both the redistribution of subsistence goods and theproduction of specialized craft objects [e.g. Branigan 1987). It must beemphasized, however, that there is little, if any, clear evidence forpottery manufacture in Middle Minoan Central Crete [although see Carinci1997) and the find contexts of Kamares Ware tell us where it was beingconsumed, but not necessarily where it was produced.Defining Kamares WareThe use of the term 'Kamares Ware' can be problematic(MacGillivray 1986; in press), but most would agree on the generalcriteria we outline below for describing a characteristic technique ofdecorating pottery found in restricted contexts in Middle Minoan.Kamares Ware was named after the sacred cave on the southern flank ofthe Idaean mountain range in which it was first found in 1890 (Mariani1895; Dawkins & Laistner 1912-13: 1-2, 13-21). Shortly after,excavations of the palace sites of Phaistos and Knossos uncoveredsubstantial deposits of this same ware. Its restricted distribution tothe Kamares Cave and these two palace sites in Central Crete, with onlyrare finds elsewhere, suggested its largely palatial pa��la��tial?adj.1. Of or suitable for a palace: palatial furnishings.2. Of the nature of a palace, as in spaciousness or ornateness: a palatial yacht. and, therefore,elite nature. Recent discoveries have shown that it has a broaderdistribution than previously thought, but outside the palatial centresdoes not appear to be common and may occur in very restricted contexts.Kamares Ware in stylistic terms is usually characterized by a blackslipped surface with a combination of both abstract and naturalistic nat��u��ral��is��tic?adj.1. Imitating or producing the effect or appearance of nature.2. Of or in accordance with the doctrines of naturalism. motifs in polychrome decoration, normally white and red paint. The finervessels are wheel-made and a small number of these with remarkably thinwalls have been called 'egg-shell ware'. Larger vessels with acoarser fabric are hand-made, but are decorated in a similar fashion totheir fine counterparts, forming part of the same group.The technical accomplishments of this type of pottery, early in the2nd millennium BC, are notable. The high-quality, metallic black slip isproduced by oxidation-reduction-oxidation firing of an iron-rich slip.This technique, along with the production of the red and white coloursin the polychrome effect, have been discussed in the light of analyticalwork (Noll 1982; Betancourt & Swarm 1989). Such effects require adetailed technical knowledge and excellent control of firing conditionsand, as in the Early Minoan period (Betancourt 1984; Kilikoglou 1994;Day et al. 1997), demonstrate substantial investment in both skill andequipment.The shapes in this ware are based on variations of a few basic types,whose forms reflect their probable role in conspicuous consumption conspicuous consumptionn.The acquisition and display of expensive items to attract attention to one's wealth or to suggest that one is wealthy.Noun 1. : avariety of drinking cups, the bridge-spouted jar which was a commonpouring vessel, beak-spouted jugs, amphorae for liquid storage, largepedestalled serving bowls, low tripod stands or tables and storagepithoi (Betancourt 1985: 97-100).Close similarities in fabric, paint and decoration among these shapesargue for functional sets of vessels made by the same potters or pottinggroup (MacGillivray 1987: 274). That such sets have been found at bothKnossos and Phaistos point to a form of social drinking practice, whichplayed an important role in the function and symbolic meaning of thesetwo centres.Kamares Ware and the location of productionSince the bulk of Kamares Ware has been found at Knossos andPhaistos, the common assumption has been that its production wascontrolled by these two palace centres, each presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. with its ownlocal production. However, as yet there exists no physical evidence forits production at either site (for Phaistos see Carinci 1997). Much hasbeen made of the supposed coincidence, during MMIB, of the introductionof the potter's wheel in Crete contemporary with the building ofthe first palaces, the implication being that economic intensificationin Minoan society at this time brought about a change in the potterysystem. In fact, wheel-made pottery is already present at the end of thePrepalatial period at Knossos, albeit in very limited numbers, asevidenced by a small group of looted loot?n.1. Valuables pillaged in time of war; spoils.2. Stolen goods.3. Informal Goods illicitly obtained, as by bribery.4. goblets in EMIII and MMIA contexts.It is not the introduction of wheel technology at the beginning ofProtopalatial, but the marked intensification of its use which is thesignificant point.The assumption that Kamares Ware was manufactured in the palacecentres has been largely influenced by the economic reading of theMinoan palaces as centres of production and redistribution (e.g. Walberg1976: 126; Cherry 1986: 37; Halstead 1981). Despite efforts to arguethat some built structures within the palaces are concerned with potterymanufacture (e.g. Laffineur 1990), there is no direct evidence forpottery production in the Protopalatial period at Knossos. At Phaistosthe presence of wasters of Protopalatial date have suggested potteryproduction in the vicinity to Carinci (1997), whilst a kiln excavated tothe west of the West Court has been re-dated recently to the latestphase of the Protopalatial period (Tomasello 1996). In work assessingthe potential of the local environment of Knossos for potterymanufacture, it was suggested that the nearest raw material sourcescompatible with Minoan pottery Minoan pottery is more than a useful tool for dating the mute Minoan civilization. Its restless sequence of rapidly-maturing artistic styles reveal something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they help archaeologists assign relative dates to the strata of their sites. found in the palace are located 5 km tothe south around Mount Juktas A mountain in North Central Crete, Mount Juktas (also spelled Iuktas, Iouktas, and a variety of others due to irregular transliteration from Greek) was an important religious site for the Minoan Civilization. (Day 1988), and a kiln structure has beennoted within that area (MacGillivray 1987). Indeed, MacGillivray hassuggested dissociating the location of production of Kamares Ware fromthe palaces themselves, with potters working wherever the environmentalconditions were best suited (MacGillivray 1987). However, he felt thatproduction might be located near-by each palace and that 'thefunction of the palaces . . . may not have been to manufacture finepottery, but to receive it, store it and see to its distribution'(MacGillivray 1987: 277-8). Of course, such a dislocation dislocation,displacement of a body part, usually a bone. When a bone is dislocated, the ends of opposing bones are usually forced out of connection with one another. In the process, bruising of tissues and tearing of ligaments may occur. does not meana lack of potential control over the producers of this pottery. However,we would argue that the appearance of the finest of these vessels atboth Central Cretan palace sites does not imply necessarily that bothcontrolled separate production locations.It is still the case, however, that although the similarities betweenKamares Ware at Knossos and Phaistos are in some cases so close that itis impossible to attribute the origin of production of these vessels toeither site (Walberg 1987: 12), with the exception of MacGillivray(1987: 278), this ware is still presumed to have been produced in ornear the palace centres where it was consumed. When Kamares Ware hasbeen found outside of Knossos or Phaistos, the assumption has normallybeen for a palatial origin of manufacture. Examples of this ware fromthe Kamares Cave are argued to be from Phaistos on the basis ofgeographical proximity and similarities in style (Walberg 1987: 283).The Kamares Ware from Phaistos and its harbour town at Kommos isidentical in style, yet in this case production has been suggested atboth sites (Betancourt 1990: 29-30, 33, 36-7). It may be suggested,however, on the basis of stylistic similarities and of its regionaldistribution, that much of the finest Kamares Ware found at Knossos andPhaistos shared a common origin and may have been made in the sameproduction area in Central Crete.Some of the polychrome decorated wares found outside Central Creteseem to comprise regional variants. One group from the palace site ofMalia to the east (Poursat 1983; 1997) is of local manufacture. Acontemporary, polychrome style, whose centre of production has beenconvincingly argued to be in East Crete, has a distribution whichincludes Knossos and as far afield as Egypt (Floyd 1997; for Knossos nowadd Momigliano & Wilson 1996: P7, 9, 10).The symbolic associations of Kamares Ware in Central Crete formed animportant aspect of Cherry's ideas of 'peer polityinteraction'. According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. his model (Cherry 1986), Knossos andPhaistos would have been in competition in many spheres, amongst whichwas their ability to produce fine craft items for ceremonial and eliteuse. With regard to Kamares Ware he states (Cherry 1986, 37, ouritalics):Very significantly, neither site can be regarded as the originator ofthe style: it emerged with the palaces themselves in more than onepolity.The palatial workshops of these two central Cretan palaces wereargued to have produced ceramics in competitive emulation [Cherry 1986:37-8). That control of craft production and access to technicalknowledge both expresses and increases social prestige and power isclear, yet Helms has stressed that the acquisition of finished productsfrom outside one's community is in some cases as prestigious as thecontrol of craftspeople crafts��people?pl.n.People who practice a craft; artisans. themselves (Helms 1993: 160-70). Therefore theeffect of an elite either obtaining Kamares Ware from elsewhere orproducing it locally may have been much the same in terms of prestige,yet its origin of manufacture is important for our understanding ofwhether these palace structures in the Protopalatial period really werecentres of ceramic production, or its control, rather than consumption.Raw material sources and patterns of their manipulation show strikingdiachronic di��a��chron��icadj.Of or concerned with phenomena as they change through time. consistency in the Minoan period, suggesting that at leastsome locations of manufacture were consistent over long periods of time,but such patterns give us little concrete evidence as to whether suchcraftspersons were attached or independent.Ceramic analysis in central Crete: the picture in the PrepalatialperiodWe have outlined above the link that has been made between KamaresWare and the establishment of the palaces. To consider this further, itis instructive to ask about the nature of pottery production andconsumption prior to the palatial period.Recently major projects have been carried out on the production anddistribution of pottery in East and Central Crete during the Prepalatialperiod, using detailed stylistic, petrographic pe��trog��ra��phy?n.The description and classification of rocks.pe��trogra��pher n. , elemental and scanningelectron microscope scan��ning electron microscopen. Abbr. SEMAn electron microscope that forms a three-dimensional image on a cathode-ray tube by moving a beam of focused electrons across an object and reading both the electrons scattered by the object and analyses (Wilson & Day 1994; Day et al. 1997;Whitelaw et al. 1997). Results of these studies to date have shown that,rather than the anticipated pattern of most communities or householdsproducing pottery for their own use, already in Early Minoan I and IIproduction was based in a restricted number of areas, which producedpottery of specific types. Ceramic vessels from these centres were thendistributed over long distances within the island. In short, it has beenargued that pottery production was a specialized activity already inPrepalatial times, and that the consumption patterns indicate themovement of pottery throughout the island (Day et al. 1997) in its ownright and not as an accompaniment to other transactions.This picture has been shown to pertain per��tain?intr.v. per��tained, per��tain��ing, per��tains1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident.2. even to large sites such asKnossos, where the finest-quality pottery of EMI-IIA seems to have beenimported from the Plain of the Mesara in the South of Crete (Wilson& Day 1994) and the ordinary painted wares share a common originwith those of other sites in both the north and south of the island. Thefinest comprise a relatively restricted number of wares and shapes andmay be considered prestige goods used in some form of ritualizedactivity, possibly cult practice. Many of the vessels were parts ofdrinking and pouring sets, which emphasizes the dual nature of thelarge-scale consumption taking place at Knossos at this time: theconsumption of both high-quality pottery and of its liquid contents.If the production of such high-quality vessels found at Knossos hasbeen shown to be non-local during the Prepalatial period, and thepottery system is already very complex, this calls into question theassumption that all the Minoan pottery at Knossos in the First Palaceperiod is locally produced.Ceramic petrography pe��trog��ra��phy?n.The description and classification of rocks.pe��trogra��pher n. of Protopalatial Kamares WareAs part of a continuing programme of ceramic analysis at Knossos,pottery of Protopalatial date (MMIB-MMIIB) from the palace at Knossoshas been analysed. A full range of wares has been sampled usingpetrographic analysis, totalling over 200 samples. These include storageand cooking vessels, with a representative sample of polychromedecorated fine to coarse pottery, including Kamares Ware. Over 60examples of polychrome and related pottery were examined in thinsection. Petrographic analysis was chosen as it has not been possible todistinguish, by chemical analysis, different production centres in theMesara Plain Mesara is the name of an illuvial plain in southern Crete, to the east of the ruins of Phaistos. It stretches for about 50 km, with a width of about 7 km. Since 1500 BC the plain has grown up to 6km due to a build up of illuvial sediment. and North Central Crete (Jones 1986).As petrographic analysis often provides more information when appliedto coarser fabrics, due to their higher content of identifiablenon-plastic inclusions, stylistic 'sets' of related material,in coarse to fine fabrics were analysed in order to infer provenance prov��e��nance?n.1. Place of origin; derivation.2. Proof of authenticity or of past ownership. Used of art works and antiques. information even of fine wares [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURES 2 & 3OMITTED]. For this reason, the coarser Kamares Ware vessels sampled inthis study provided the best petrographic evidence for possiblelocation/s of production. It is then possible through stylistic links,the comparison of the clay groundmass groundmass:see porphyry. in thin section and comparison ofpaint colour in both the coarse and fine fabrics, to argue that thefiner range of Kamares Ware is manufactured in the same location as thecoarse.The fabrics analysed are almost all familiar from the analysis ofpottery from the preceding Prepalatial period. It appears that there isa remarkable continuity in the raw material sources and the pasterecipes used by some potters in Central Crete from the Prepalatial,through the First Palace periods and into the Late Bronze Age. ThereforeKamares Ware may be viewed within the context of pottery production incentres which existed already in the Prepalatial period, and perhaps notas the product of workshops which were established with the FirstPalaces.Moreover, analysis of some vessels which have enough non-plasticinclusions to provide clear petrological information shows them to beincompatible with the geology of the environs of Knossos. In fact, manyoccur in fabrics which are local to south central Crete and, moreparticularly, the Mesara Plain. Such fabrics are both distinctive andwell-documented, being characterized by well-rounded sand grains whichcomprise schists, serpentinite serpentinite?A metamorphic rock consisting almost entirely of minerals in the serpentine group. Serpentinite forms from the alteration of ferromagnesian silicate materials, such as olivine and pyroxene, during metamorphism. , altered igneous ig��ne��ous?adj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of fire.2. Geologya. Formed by solidification from a molten state. Used of rocks.b. Of or relating to rock so formed; pyrogenic. rocks and siltstones,mainly derived from the ophiolite oph��i��o��lite?n.Any of a group of igneous and metamorphic rocks, rich in iron and magnesium, whose origin is associated with an early phase of the development of a geosyncline. and gneiss gneiss(nīs), coarse-grained, imperfectly foliated, or layered, metamorphic rock. Gneiss is characterized by alternating light and dark bands differing in mineral composition and having coarser grains than those of schist. series which borders theplain to both the north and south. These fabrics have been documented inboth Prepalatial and Neopalatial pottery from the Mesara plain and insome cases are identical to fabrics present in the EMIIA Mesara importsto Knossos (Wilson & Day 1994; Myer & Betancourt 1990).Vessels of both the Pre- and Protopalatial periods share othermacroscopic macroscopic/mac��ro��scop��ic/ (mak?ro-skop��ik) gross (2). mac��ro��scop��icor mac��ro��scop��i��caladj.1. Large enough to be perceived or examined by the unaided eye.2. technological/forming characteristics which confirm theabove observations on the petrological microscope. Applique features,such as feet and pellets in Mesara pottery of both EM and MM, haveadditional sand tempering; jugs frequently have an applied band aroundthe neck and other metallicizing skeuomorphic features; surfacedecoration, notably the iron reduction black, is of very high quality;and even clay fabric colours can be similar or identical in the twoperiods, with distinctive grey and pink colours frequently present inthe sherd break.Quantification of these heavily selected deposits is very difficult.But it seems that, amongst the polychrome pottery at Knossos, on thegrounds of decorative style, distinctive paint colours, the quality ofiron-rich slips, clay colour, inclusions and other technologicalfeatures, a substantial portion of the most 'palatial' ofBronze Age ceramic styles is not necessarily produced in workshops inthe area of Knossos. On the contrary, much of the highest qualityKamares Ware appears to be a continuation of the tradition ofhigh-quality special ceramics going back to Prepalatial times, a highproportion of which came out of other areas of central Crete, notablythe Mesara Plainand its surrounding hills.'Palatial' and 'provincial' pottery productionMuch has been based on the terms palatial and provincial indiscussion of Middle Minoan pottery. Walberg's work has formed thebackground for most consideration of this suggested division inproduction. Yet in some cases her dichotomy was based on thepottery's findspot rather than its location of manufacture. Eventhough the Kamares Ware found at Kamilari and Aghia Triada is closelylinked in style to that found at the palace of Phaistos, only 3 kmdistant, Walberg classifies it as provincial (Walberg 1983: 92-3; butsee MacGillivray 1986). In yet other cases, pottery found in palatialcontexts at Malia is considered to be provincial.Such a confusion has only added to the perception of the palaces ascontrollers or indeed the location of ceramic production centres. Ofcourse, bearing in mind our suggestion that some of the Kamares Warefound at Knossos has its origin in south central Crete, one could arguethat it was produced in a palatial production centre, at Phaistos. Thereare indeed strong similarities between the colour and motifs of Kamaresware, notably foliate foliate/fo��li��ate/ (fo��le-it)1. having, pertaining to, or resembling leaves.2. consisting of thin, leaflike layers. bands, and the brightly coloured fresco fresco(frĕs`kō)[Ital.,=fresh], in its pure form the art of painting upon damp, fresh, lime plaster. In Renaissance Italy it was called buon fresco to distinguish it from fresco secco, paintingsof the First Palace at Phaistos (Boulotis 1995: [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE8 OMITTED]; cf. [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2 OMITTED]). What seems certainis that there were pottery-production centres in or near the MesaraPlain which had a long-standing tradition of high-quality pottery, goingback to the beginning of Early Minoan. They may have existed in thePrepalatial period as rural agglomerations of workshops, but in theabsence of any physical remains of such installations, it is difficultto go further at this stage.However, the Middle Minean pottery traditions seem to be thesuccessors, both in terms of technical knowledge and clay paste recipes,of a system which existed before the building of the palaces. Withfurther work, it may be possible to investigate their link to thepalace, whether it was one of supplying an elite demand as independentrather than attached specialists (Costin 1991: 4-7, 11-13). Yet clearlysome production of polychrome pottery in Middle Minean Crete took placephysically within a palatial context. The palatial centre at Malia hadits own distinctive production of polychrome pottery, in workshops atQuarter Mu.To summarize, we now have the possibility that a significant portionof the classic, high-quality Kamares Ware which was consumed in suchlarge quantities within the Knossos Palace precincts was not producedthere, or even in the environs of Knossos. Rather, some can bedemonstrated to have its origin further south in Central Crete. We mightimmediately emphasize two implications, the first regarding peer polityinteraction and the second concerning the nature and use of the firstpalace at Knossos.Production centre or consumption centre - the first palace at KnossosThat Kamares Ware vessels are about display is indisputable. Theirelaborate shapes and decoration and their clear function in a ceremonialor feasting context demonstrate that they were meant to be seen. Theiruse conferred prestige. The fact that they have many metallicizingtraits seems further to confirm that they were involved in a systemwhere material objects in a specialized context were used to symbolizesocial status and convey ritual meaning.In recent work, Hamilakis has indicated the importance of feastingand communal drinking ceremonies in bolstering and legitimating thepower of ruling elites of the Neopalatial period in Crete (Hamilakis1996). He links the rise in the numbers of large deposits of conical conical/con��i��cal/ (kon��i-k'l) cone-shaped. con��i��calor con��icadj.Of, relating to, or shaped like a cone. cups to increased feasting as social mobilization and theintensification of exploitation of the olive and vine. We would also seethe earlier Protopalatial palaces as the setting for such ceremoniesinvolving food and especially drink, perhaps within a cultic context(MacGillivray 1987: 287-9).It is suggested, however, that it is not just food and drink beingconsumed, but also the most prestigious 'hardware' of suchritual consumption, such as Kamares Ware and its metal equivalents.Obtaining and controlling the supply of such material objects would haveprovided a source of power. In the case of Knossos, we see little needalso to bestow be��stow?tr.v. be��stowed, be��stow��ing, be��stows1. To present as a gift or an honor; confer: bestowed high praise on the winners.2. upon the palace precincts the role of pottery producer orcontroller of production. On the contrary, we suggest that the traditionfrom which the finest Kamares Ware develops had its epicentre epicentrePoint on the surface of the Earth that is directly above the source (or focus) of an earthquake. There the effects of the earthquake usually are most severe. See also seismology. in southcentral Crete.Knoosos' action in consuming prestige ceramics from the southshould not be viewed in isolation. Such a striking monumental symbol asKnossos would have had a major stake in the trade and manufacture ofmetals, which most likely made it cast its gaze to the islands to thenorth. Yet such economic interests and demand for objects of display andconsumption may have meant the control of a more specific area of craftproduction by this powerful centre, not necessarily located within theimmediate environs of Knossos. Recent discoveries at Pores Katsambas nowbear this out, providing strong evidence for a gateway port on the northcoast as well as a major production centre supplying Knossos with avariety of craft goods (Dimopoulou 1997).Kamares Ware and the palace at KnossosWhile not denying that some craft activities take place within palacestructures, the suggestion that all Kamares Ware found at Knossos isalso produced there or in the environs seems to be unfounded. Such afinding bolsters our view of Knossos as a monumental structure whichconsumes and deposits, which is concerned with social mobilization,ceremony and perhaps ultimately domination. The evolutionary view ofproduction, linked to palace centralized workshops, at least as far asthese ceramics are concerned, is shown to be an over-simplification, assome of these ceramics seem to have their origin in what might beconsidered the 'territory' of another palace.Indeed the importation of ritual vessels from the Mesara to Knossoscan be traced back to the beginning of Minean times. Not only does thespecial functional use of vessels obtained from locations in CentralCrete continue into the Old Palace period, but links in traditions ofmanufacture also exist, suggesting a common source of production forthese imports in both Early and Middle Minean. Potters in the south ofCrete were producing functionally specialized vessels for ritual usewhich were distributed to a restricted number of centres from EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) An electrical disturbance in a system due to natural phenomena, low-frequency waves from electromechanical devices or high-frequency waves (RFI) from chips and other electronic devices. Allowable limits are governed by the FCC. ;although such vessels might have changed in meaning on export from theirsource area, such a pattern might even be indicative of shared religiouspractice by the beginning of the Bronze Age in Central Crete.Kamares Ware and other polychrome pottery make up an important partof the artefactual adj. 1. of or pertaining to an artefact.2. made by human actions.Adj. 1. artefactual - of or relating to artifactsartifactual evidence for ritualized activity within the firstpalaces at Knossos and Phaistos. Although patterns may change over thelife-time of the First Palace, the quantities and types of pottery foundin the palatial deposits indicate specialized and repeatedeating-drinking practices on a large scale. The prestige status ofKamares Ware further supports this argument for feasting activity withinthe palaces, exploited by an elite. In ranked societies such ritualizedpractice can take on a symbolic meaning and evolve into religiousfestivals where 'spiritualism, rather than wealth is monitored, andsupernatural favours instead of food are redistributed' (Moody1987: 240).Although we suggest divorcing the locations of production andconsumption of these elite vessels we have analysed, the monumentalityof palatial architecture and the conspicuous consumption of prestigegoods such as Kamares Ware may be due to competitive emulation betweenpalaces where neighbouring states competed for higher inter-politystatus (Renfrew 1986: 8). The principal forum in which such inter-politycompetition may have taken place was at the palatial centres inpan-polity gatherings, with the focus on religious ritual within thepalaces themselves.Acknowledgements. We would like to thank the Greek ArchaeologicalService and the Managing Committee of the British School at Athens The British School at Athens (BSA) (Greek: Βρετανική Σχολή Αθηνών) is one of the 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes in Athens, Greece. forpermission to sample for analysis the material mentioned here. Fieldworkand analyses were funded by the British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established by Royal Charter in 1902, and is a fellowship of more than 800 scholars. The Academy is self-governing and independent. Applied Science inArchaeology Fund and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Councilof Canada The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (French: (le) conseil de recherches en sciences humaine en Canada) (SSHRC/CRSH) is a Canadian federal agency which supports university-based training and research and training in the humanities and social , to whom we are very grateful. In reviews of the submittedtext, the constructive comments of Carl Knappett and an anonymousreviewer are gratefully acknowledged.ReferencesBETANCOURT, P.P. (ed.). 1994. East Cretan White-on-dark Ware.Philadelphia (PA): University Museum.1985. The history of Minoan pottery. Princeton (NJ): PrincetonUniversity Princeton University,at Princeton, N.J.; coeducational; chartered 1746, opened 1747, rechartered 1748, called the College of New Jersey until 1896.Schools and Research Facilities Press.1990. Kommos II. The final Neolithic through Middle Minean IIIpottery. 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