ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an overview of the most relevant sources that characterise Elamite ceramics, documents the distribution and composition of major assemblages, and highlights the main phase markers and chronological developments in the wares. It traces the ways in which research in this field has developed and helps identify areas which would benefit from further research. While the historical evidence supports the existence of Elam and Elamites as a political and cultural entity earlier in the 3rd millennium BC, the archaeological character and location for the earliest Elamite phases remain elusive. Archaeologically, the period is divided into two phases, but the dating is by necessity less precise and open to interpretation as new material becomes available: Middle Elamite I, and Middle Elamite II – III. Shimashki phase ceramics, although displaying many regional Mesopotamian characteristics, preface any discussion of Elamite assemblages and are often found at sites that continued to be occupied into the Sukkalmah period.