Through this analysis we show that the ceramic assemblage recovered in Period IVC Proto-Elamite occupation resulted from a complex system that included local production as well as intraregional and interregional exchange. We suggest that the community that settled at Tepe Yahya built most of its typical Proto-Elamite ceramic vessels using clays available locally in the valley surrounding the site. Surprisingly, Burnished ware, a ceramic style well-represented at the site but usually more common in northern Iran, was also built using local clays. In the same period, additional, different styles of painted ceramics were present at the site. We suggest that these ceramics were made using clays available elsewhere in Kerman and Seistan-and-Balochistan provinces. Comparisons with compositions of materials from Period IVB revealed that changes occurred in ceramic production during this period.
Beyond ceramic production, broader implications are derived from these results for the understanding of the Proto-Elamite Culture, interactions in southeastern Iran around 3000 BCE, and the Proto-Elamite legacy in this area.