Within the framework of Mesopotamian Late Chalcolithic, period VI A at Arslantepe in Eastern Anatolia (LC 5) represents a stimulating case study because of the evidence of economic centralisation, the significant amount of materials found in well stratified contexts, the large exposed area, and the presence of functionally distinct architectures.

In the complex of public buildings, the distribution of cooking pots, storage vessels and mass-produced bowls and their association with other finds (mainly animal bones and clay sealings) and architectonic features (fireplaces, platforms, and mortars) seem to testify to different locations and modalities of food preparation, storage, and consumption. In this presentation I focus in particular on the mass-produced bowls, their main technological characteristics, dimensions, distribution within different contexts in association to other finds. My aim is to examine two cases of so-called formal commensality and to ultimately discuss how food management contributed to shape economic and social inequality at Arslantepe VI A.