Ideas about Uruk political and economic organization are based to no small extent on studies of and assumptions about pottery. The infamous beveled rim bowl is the best-known example, but Uruk vessel shapes are for many scholars defining features of the so-called Uruk expansion. Recent work using neutron activation analyses has suggested that pottery was generally locally produced, opening up a range of questions about how ideas and practices associated with pottery were shared. In this workshop we will discuss a series of new analyses conducted with other archaeometric methods and debate the implications of such studies for an understanding of Uruk economy.