ABSTRACT
With these few words written over two decades ago, it is clear that Andrew and Susan Sherratt had already seen the potential and importance of what we term MTCs; our attempt to disentangle the implications of what they said has taken us a far greater number of words. In general, they argued that the appearance of two forms of bulk commodity units-oxhide ingots for metals and Canaanite Jars for organic goods-demonstrates that certain regions (respectively, Cyprus and the Levant) were able to specialise in the production of bulk commodities that were transported by sea. The quantity of goods moving long distance by sea may have been small in relation to overall production, but its importance in motivating intensified surplus production to provide goods for exchange was out of all proportion to its bulk (Sherratt and Sherratt 1991: 354). Moreover, because the equivalent volume or weight of organic goods was of lower value than that for metals, the Canaanite Jars and their liquid contents-mainly wine and olive oil-must represent a high level of specialised production (Sherratt and Sherratt 1991: 363-364).
