The history and archaeology of Elam are marked by the intermittent reconfiguration of the entity which we call by that name. Although continuities can be observed, there is as much if not more evidence of transformation and disjuncture. This chapter considers the archaeological and historical trajectory of Elam in the light of discussions in the field of history which have emphasized both long-term continuities and short-term cycles. It also looks at the problem of centre and periphery within Elam, between Elam and its neighbours, and in the study of Elam vis-à-vis Mesopotamia in modern scholarship. The topic of ethnogenesis, introduced at the beginning of this study, is again broached, while the question is asked whether the foregoing study should be classified as history or archaeology. Finally, some suggestions are made which might have an impact on the enhancement of Elamite studies, and topics for further work are touched upon.

Beginning with the first references to Elam in the written record of the mid third millennium BC, we have surveyed between three and four thousand years of Elamite history and archaeology. Along the way, a host of detailed issues has been explored. Many of the more salient points have been brought together in the summary tables provided in Chapters 3 through 11, and these should serve the reader as a ready reference to the main features of Elamite archaeology and history. At this point I would like to address a number of concepts which may prove useful in coming to grips with the mass of data dealt with in the preceding chapters. These are aimed at reorienting the reader from the details to generalities, and at putting some of the issues raised by a study of Elam into a larger perspective.

The courte durée

The first issue I would like to raise is one of structure. To what extent do the various incarnations of Elam attested in the archaeological and written record display evidence of underlying structures which could be said to underpin Elam in all its various manifestations? As we have seen throughout this book, it was not merely the boundaries of Elam which changed through time, but its very nature. We have, in fact, found evidence of many Elams. These include the changing representation of Elam in a variety of external sources.