1. Introduction
The economic organization of Susa during the Proto-Elamite period has long been interpreted within a framework largely derived from Mesopotamian models of centralized, redistributive and hierarchical economies. In this dominant view, urbanization, administrative centralization, monumental architecture and state bureaucracy are taken, often implicitly, as the natural preconditions for any discussion of exchange, craft specialization and the spread of writing. As a result, Proto-Elamite Susa is usually treated either as a peripheral outpost of Mesopotamian urban systems or as a transitional step in a linear evolutionary path “from village to city.” This article critically reassesses that framework in light of recent advances in economic anthropology and social archaeology and asks whether the economic organization of Proto-Elamite Susa must necessarily be explained in terms of a centralized and hierarchical economy, or whether it can instead be understood as an instance of an alternative historical trajectory towards economic complexity. The main objective of the study is to re-read the economic nature of Susa through the lens of a “fluid, modular and market-oriented economy” and to examine to what extent archaeological, textual and spatial evidence points to a decentralized, multi-actor organization of production and exchange. Subsidiary questions focus on the role of local actors and independent economic units, the implications of seal-style diversity and seal-impression distribution, and the structural features of Proto-Elamite text headings for reconstructing the configuration of exchange networks linking Susa to surrounding highland communities.

2. Method
The research adopts a qualitative, analytical approach based on the integration of three distinct but interrelated levels of evidence and interpretation. At the first level, archaeological data from Susa are revisited, including the spatial distribution of seal impressions, typological diversity of seal styles, their occurrence in domestic and storage contexts, and the transformation of clay envelopes into information-oriented tablets. The aim here is to reconstruct patterns of control, storage and movement of goods and to assess whether the concentration of administrative devices reflects political centralization or rather the episodic convergence of independent exchange networks. At the second level, a structural and content-based analysis of Proto-Elamite texts and tablets is conducted. Special attention is paid to the function and diversity of headings, their two-tiered structure (basic forms plus secondary modifiers) and their sensitivity to time, place and transactional context. This analysis allows us to evaluate the degree of flexibility, decentralization and modularity in the administrative organization, and to explore how far the recording system supports localized decision-making rather than top-down bureaucratic command.
The third level employs an ethnographic comparative approach, drawing on fluid, seasonal and market-oriented economies in contemporary mountain–village settings, especially in the central Zagros. The early twentieth-century mountain village of Chelgerd in Kuhrang serves as a key case study. Despite its small physical size and limited permanent population, Chelgerd periodically turned into a highly dynamic economic hub hosting dozens of shops, workshops and service units catering mainly to mobile pastoral groups. Exchange activities were tightly scheduled according to migration calendars and seasonal demand, and the spatial concentration of economic practices did not presuppose permanent urban infrastructure or strong formal institutions. In this study, ethnographic comparison is explicitly used in the sense of “limited, structural analogy”: the goal is not to claim direct historical continuity, but to identify structural similarities in forms of “fluid economy” characterized by mobility, modular units of production and exchange, and “market as event” rather than market as permanent urban institution. Finally, insights from these three levels are integrated into a synthetic explanatory model for a “decentralized Proto-Elamite economy” and for Susa’s role as a dynamic node within highland–lowland exchange networks.

3. Results
The analysis of spatial and administrative data from Susa reveals that seal impressions are predominantly concentrated in storage areas within domestic units and small-scale local facilities, rather than in large, clearly institutional buildings alone. This pattern, together with the high stylistic diversity of seals and an observable reduction in devices designed to control containers and packages, is difficult to reconcile with a strongly centralized and rigidly hierarchical economic model. Instead, it points to a multi-actor economy in which the management of exchange is largely carried out at the level of local households, workshops or independent units. The transformation of clay envelopes into information-oriented tablets, along with the structurally diverse headings in Proto-Elamite texts, further suggests that the recording system is shifting from an instrument focused mainly on monitoring sealed consignments to a more flexible tool for organizing economic information at the level of multiple autonomous actors. The two-tiered structure of headings – basic forms indicating general categories of activity or goods, and secondary modifiers specifying time, place or particular conditions – is highly consistent with a logic of fluid, context-dependent economic practice in which units can emerge, operate and dissolve without being tightly bound to a single, stable center.

4. Discussion
In light of the ethnographic comparison with mountain market-villages such as Chelgerd, the evidence from Susa is reinterpreted. In this comparative framework, the market is not conceptualized as a fixed, architecturally monumental urban institution, but as a temporally bounded “economic event” embedded in seasonal mobility and shifting demand. Just as Chelgerd, with less than five hectares of built-up area, could host over a hundred shops, workshops and service units during peak migration seasons without sustaining a permanently dense population or substantial investment in urban infrastructure, Proto-Elamite Susa can similarly be understood as a dynamic node within a network of highland–lowland exchanges. The spatial concentration of activities and administrative devices in Susa would thus reflect the episodic convergence of multiple, partly independent exchange networks and mobile actors rather than the presence of a single, enduring political center. From this perspective, the diversity of seal styles, the distribution of seal impressions across domestic and storage contexts, and the variable structure of textual headings all converge to depict an economic system in which complexity is generated through the interconnection of modular and temporally situated networks of exchange, rather than through the expansion of centralized institutions and hierarchies.

5. Conclusion
Taken together, the archaeological, textual and ethnographic lines of evidence support an interpretation of Proto-Elamite Susa not simply as the center of a stabilized urban order, but as a mature example of a “fluid, modular and market-oriented economy.” In this reading, Susa emerges as a dynamic node within a multi-ethnic, multi-sited highland–lowland network of exchanges, where small-scale economic units, local actors and situational exchange networks play a primary role in organizing production and distribution. This perspective redefines the position of Susa in Proto-Elamite studies, freeing it from a peripheral status within Mesopotamian-centered narratives and highlighting it instead as an instance of an alternative pathway to economic complexity. More broadly, the study calls for a reconsideration of dominant models used to explain early complex economies in the ancient Near East, models that have often treated centralization and urbanization as universal and self-evident markers of complexity. Recognizing the possibility of complex yet decentralized, mobile and fluid economies carry implications that extend well beyond the specific case of Susa, and may inform our understanding of other pre-state or early-complex societies, especially in mountainous and marginal regions characterized by diverse subsistence strategies.

Author Contributions
This article was written with equal participation by all authors.

Acknowledgements
The authors extend their sincere gratitude to the anonymous peer reviewers for their insightful critiques and constructive suggestions, which significantly enhanced the clarity and scholarly rigor of this manuscript.
Conflict of Interest
In adherence to ethical publication standards, the authors affirm that there are no conflicts of interest, either personal or financial, that could have influenced the content or conclusions presented in this research.