In archaeology, the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic (sometimes Epi-paleolithic etc.) is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age. Mesolithic also falls between these two periods, and the two are sometimes confused or used as synonyms. More often, they are distinct, referring to approximately the same period of time in different geographic areas. Epipaleolithic always includes this period in the Levant and, often, the rest of the Near East. It sometimes includes parts of Southeast Europe, where Mesolithic is much more commonly used. Mesolithic very rarely includes the Levant or the Near East; in Europe, Epipalaeolithic is used, though not very often, to refer to the early Mesolithic.
The Epipalaeolithic has been defined as the "final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the Mesolithic".[1] The period is generally dated from c. 20,000BP to 10,000 BP in the Levant,[2] but later in Europe. If used as a synonym or equivalent for Mesolithic in Europe, it might end at about c. 5,000 BP or even later.
In the Levant, the period may be subdivided into Early, Middle and Late Epipaleolithic, the last also being the Natufian.[3] The preceding final Upper Paleolithic period is the Kebaran or "Upper Paleolithic Stage VI".[3]
Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers, generally nomadic, made relatively advanced tools from small flint or obsidian blades, known as microliths, that were hafted in wooden implements. There are settlements with "flimsy structures", probably not permanently occupied except at some rich sites, but used and returned to seasonally.[4]
The Epipaleolithic corresponds to the first period of progressive warming after the Last Glacial Maximum. Evolution of temperatures in the Post-Glacial period according to Greenland ice cores.[5]
In describing the period before the start of the Neolithic, "Epipaleolithic" is typically used for cultures in regions that were far from the glaciers of the Ice Age, so that the retreat of the glaciers made a less dramatic change to conditions. This was the case in the Levant.[6] Conversely, the term "Mesolithic" is most likely to be used for Western Europe where climatic change and the extinction of the megafauna had a great impact of the paleolithic populations at the end of the Ice Age, creating post-glacial cultures such as the Azilian, Sauveterrian, Tardenoisian, and Maglemosian.[7] In the past, French archaeologists had a general tendency to prefer the term "Epipaleolithic" to "Mesolithic", even for Western Europe. Where "Epipaleolithic" is still used for Europe, it is generally for areas close to the Mediterranean, as with the Azilian industry.
"Epipalaeolithic" stresses the continuity with the Upper Paleolithic. Alfonso Moure says in this respect:
In the language of Prehistorical Archaeology, the most extended trend is to use the term "Epipaleolithic" for the industrial complexes of the post-glacial hunter-gatherer groups. Inversely, those that are in transitional ways towards artificial production of food are inscribed in the "Mesolithic".[8]
In Europe, the Epipalaeolithic may be regarded as a period preceding the Early Mesolithic,[9] or as locally constituting at least a part of it. Other authors treat the Epipalaeolithic as part of the Late Palaeolithic;[10] the culture in southern Portugal between about 10,500 to 8,500 years ago is "variously labelled as 'Terminal Magdalenian' and 'Epipalaeolithic'".[11] The different usages often reflect the degree of innovation and "economic intensification in the direction of domestication, sedentism or environmental modification" seen in the culture. If the Palaeolithic way of life continues with only adaptation to reflect changes in the types of wild food available, the culture may be called Epipalaeolithic.[12] One writer, talking of Azilian microliths in Vasco-Cantabria talks of "some exceptions that seem to herald the coming of 'true' Mesolithic technologies a few centuries later".[13]
The concept of the "Epipalaeolithic" arrived several decades after the main components of the three-age system, the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. It was first proposed in 1910 by the Swedish archaeologist, Knut Stjerna, his initial example being a culture or sub-culture in Scandinavian archaeology,[14] that would not be often called Epipalaeolithic today. This left stone-lined pit graves containing implements of bone, such as harpoon and javelin heads. Stjerna observed that they "persisted during the recent Paleolithic period and also during the Protoneolithic". Here he had used a new term, "Protoneolithic", which was according to him to be applied to the Danish kitchen-middens.[15] Stjerna also said that the eastern culture "is attached to the Paleolithic civilization" ("se trouve rattachée à la civilisation paléolithique"). However, it was not intermediary and of its intermediates he said "we cannot discuss them here" ("nous ne pouvons pas examiner ici"). This "attached" and non-transitional culture he chose to call the Epipaleolithic, defining it as follows:[16]
With Epipaleolithic I mean the period during the early days that followed the age of the reindeer, the one that retained Paleolithic customs. This period has two stages in Scandinavia, that of Maglemose and that of Kunda. (Par époque épipaléolithique j'entends la période qui, pendant les premiers temps qui ont suivi l'âge du Renne, conserve les coutumes paléolithiques. Cette période présente deux étapes en Scandinavie, celle de Maglemose et de Kunda.)
Stjerna made no mention of the Mesolithic, and it is unclear if he intended his terms to replace that. His new terms were soon adopted by the German Hugo Obermaier, who in 1916 used them in El Hombre fósil (translated into English in 1924) as part of an attack on the concept of the Mesolithic, which he insisted was a period of "transition" and an "interim" rather than "transformation":[17]
But in my opinion this term is not justified, as it would be if these phases presented a natural evolutionary development – a progressive transformation from Paleolithic to Neolithic. In reality, the final phase of the Capsian, the Tardenoisian, the Azilian and the northern Maglemose industries are the posthumous descendants of the Palaeolithic ...
This early history of the term introduced the ambiguity and degree of confusion which has continued to surround its use, at least as relates to the archaeology of Europe.
Notes
^Bahn, Paul, The Penguin Archaeology Guide, Penguin, London, p. 141. ISBN0140514481
^Zalloua, Pierre A.; Matisoo-Smith, Elizabeth (6 January 2017). "Mapping Post-Glacial expansions: The Peopling of Southwest Asia". Scientific Reports. 7: 40338. Bibcode:2017NatSR...740338P. doi:10.1038/srep40338. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC5216412. PMID 28059138.
^Simmons, 46–48; agriculture, origins of. (2008). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
^"History of Europe". Encyclopædia Britannica online. Retrieved 8 April 2013. The Scandinavian Ice Sheet itself started to retreat northward about 8300 bce, and the period between then and the origins of agriculture (at various times in the 7th to 4th millennia, depending on location) was one of great environmental and cultural change. It is termed the Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age) to emphasize its transitional importance, but the alternative term Epipaleolithic, used mostly in eastern Europe, stresses the continuity with processes begun earlier.
^"...there are no sites defining the transition from the Epipalaeolithic Azilian to the Early Mesolithic" – p. 249, Thomas, Homer L., A Handbook of Archaeology: Cultures and Sites: North Africa, Egypt, Southwest Asia, Mediterranean, Northwest Europe, Northern Europe, ..., Volume 1, 1996, Paul Astroms Forlag, ISBN9170811229, 978-9170811227
^referring to the Azilian: Jones, Emily Lena, In Search of the Broad Spectrum Revolution in Paleolithic Southwest Europe, pp. 5–6, 2015, Springer, ISBN3319223518, 978-3319223513, google books
^Straus, Lawrence Guy, p. 310 in Bailey and Spikins
^Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory (2nd Edition), eds. Eric Delson, Ian Tattersall, et al., p. 236. 2004, Routledge, ISBN1135582289, 978-1135582289, google books (quoted); Bailey and Spikins, 4
^Obermaier, Hugo (1924). Fossil man in Spain. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 322.
References
Bailey, Geoff and Spikins, Penny, Mesolithic Europe, 2008, Cambridge University Press, ISBN0521855039, 978-0521855037
Simmons, Alan H., The Neolithic Revolution in the Near East: Transforming the Human Landscape, 2007, University of Arizona Press, ISBN978-0816529667, google books
Stjerna, Knut (1910). "Les groupes de civilisation en Scandinavie à l'époque des sépultures à galerie". L'Anthropologie (in French). XXI: 1–34.
January 26, 2023
epipalaeolithic, archaeology, epipaleolithic, sometimes, paleolithic, period, occurring, between, upper, paleolithic, neolithic, during, stone, mesolithic, also, falls, between, these, periods, sometimes, confused, used, synonyms, more, often, they, distinct, . In archaeology the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic sometimes Epi paleolithic etc is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age Mesolithic also falls between these two periods and the two are sometimes confused or used as synonyms More often they are distinct referring to approximately the same period of time in different geographic areas Epipaleolithic always includes this period in the Levant and often the rest of the Near East It sometimes includes parts of Southeast Europe where Mesolithic is much more commonly used Mesolithic very rarely includes the Levant or the Near East in Europe Epipalaeolithic is used though not very often to refer to the early Mesolithic EpipalaeolithicEpipalaeolithic stone mortar and pestle Kebaran culture Epipaleolithic Near East 22000 18000 BPAlternative namesMesolithic for Europe Geographical rangeNear EastPeriodEnd of Old Stone AgeDates20 000 to 10 000 BPPreceded byLevantine Aurignacian Upper Paleolithic Followed byNeolithicThe Epipalaeolithic has been defined as the final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the Mesolithic 1 The period is generally dated from c 20 000 BP to 10 000 BP in the Levant 2 but later in Europe If used as a synonym or equivalent for Mesolithic in Europe it might end at about c 5 000 BP or even later In the Levant the period may be subdivided into Early Middle and Late Epipaleolithic the last also being the Natufian 3 The preceding final Upper Paleolithic period is the Kebaran or Upper Paleolithic Stage VI 3 Epipalaeolithic hunter gatherers generally nomadic made relatively advanced tools from small flint or obsidian blades known as microliths that were hafted in wooden implements There are settlements with flimsy structures probably not permanently occupied except at some rich sites but used and returned to seasonally 4 Contents 1 Term usage 2 History of the term 3 Notes 4 ReferencesTerm usage Edit The Epipaleolithic corresponds to the first period of progressive warming after the Last Glacial Maximum Evolution of temperatures in the Post Glacial period according to Greenland ice cores 5 In describing the period before the start of the Neolithic Epipaleolithic is typically used for cultures in regions that were far from the glaciers of the Ice Age so that the retreat of the glaciers made a less dramatic change to conditions This was the case in the Levant 6 Conversely the term Mesolithic is most likely to be used for Western Europe where climatic change and the extinction of the megafauna had a great impact of the paleolithic populations at the end of the Ice Age creating post glacial cultures such as the Azilian Sauveterrian Tardenoisian and Maglemosian 7 In the past French archaeologists had a general tendency to prefer the term Epipaleolithic to Mesolithic even for Western Europe Where Epipaleolithic is still used for Europe it is generally for areas close to the Mediterranean as with the Azilian industry Epipalaeolithic stresses the continuity with the Upper Paleolithic Alfonso Moure says in this respect In the language of Prehistorical Archaeology the most extended trend is to use the term Epipaleolithic for the industrial complexes of the post glacial hunter gatherer groups Inversely those that are in transitional ways towards artificial production of food are inscribed in the Mesolithic 8 In Europe the Epipalaeolithic may be regarded as a period preceding the Early Mesolithic 9 or as locally constituting at least a part of it Other authors treat the Epipalaeolithic as part of the Late Palaeolithic 10 the culture in southern Portugal between about 10 500 to 8 500 years ago is variously labelled as Terminal Magdalenian and Epipalaeolithic 11 The different usages often reflect the degree of innovation and economic intensification in the direction of domestication sedentism or environmental modification seen in the culture If the Palaeolithic way of life continues with only adaptation to reflect changes in the types of wild food available the culture may be called Epipalaeolithic 12 One writer talking of Azilian microliths in Vasco Cantabria talks of some exceptions that seem to herald the coming of true Mesolithic technologies a few centuries later 13 History of the term EditMain article Three age system The Epipaleolithic and Protoneolithic of Stjerna and Obermaier Microliths tools from Ein Qashish South Jezreel Valley Israel Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran ca 23 000 16 500 BP The Ain Sakhri lovers Ain Sakhri near Bethleem Israel Kebaran culture Late Epipaleolithic Near East The concept of the Epipalaeolithic arrived several decades after the main components of the three age system the Paleolithic Mesolithic and Neolithic It was first proposed in 1910 by the Swedish archaeologist Knut Stjerna his initial example being a culture or sub culture in Scandinavian archaeology 14 that would not be often called Epipalaeolithic today This left stone lined pit graves containing implements of bone such as harpoon and javelin heads Stjerna observed that they persisted during the recent Paleolithic period and also during the Protoneolithic Here he had used a new term Protoneolithic which was according to him to be applied to the Danish kitchen middens 15 Stjerna also said that the eastern culture is attached to the Paleolithic civilization se trouve rattachee a la civilisation paleolithique However it was not intermediary and of its intermediates he said we cannot discuss them here nous ne pouvons pas examiner ici This attached and non transitional culture he chose to call the Epipaleolithic defining it as follows 16 With Epipaleolithic I mean the period during the early days that followed the age of the reindeer the one that retained Paleolithic customs This period has two stages in Scandinavia that of Maglemose and that of Kunda Par epoque epipaleolithique j entends la periode qui pendant les premiers temps qui ont suivi l age du Renne conserve les coutumes paleolithiques Cette periode presente deux etapes en Scandinavie celle de Maglemose et de Kunda Stjerna made no mention of the Mesolithic and it is unclear if he intended his terms to replace that His new terms were soon adopted by the German Hugo Obermaier who in 1916 used them in El Hombre fosil translated into English in 1924 as part of an attack on the concept of the Mesolithic which he insisted was a period of transition and an interim rather than transformation 17 But in my opinion this term is not justified as it would be if these phases presented a natural evolutionary development a progressive transformation from Paleolithic to Neolithic In reality the final phase of the Capsian the Tardenoisian the Azilian and the northern Maglemose industries are the posthumous descendants of the Palaeolithic This early history of the term introduced the ambiguity and degree of confusion which has continued to surround its use at least as relates to the archaeology of Europe Notes Edit Bahn Paul The Penguin Archaeology Guide Penguin London p 141 ISBN 0140514481 Simmons 46 a b Simmons 47 48 Simmons 48 49 Zalloua Pierre A Matisoo Smith Elizabeth 6 January 2017 Mapping Post Glacial expansions The Peopling of Southwest Asia Scientific Reports 7 40338 Bibcode 2017NatSR 740338P doi 10 1038 srep40338 ISSN 2045 2322 PMC 5216412 PMID 28059138 Simmons 46 48 agriculture origins of 2008 Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved April 10 2008 from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online History of Europe Encyclopaedia Britannica online Retrieved 8 April 2013 The Scandinavian Ice Sheet itself started to retreat northward about 8300 bce and the period between then and the origins of agriculture at various times in the 7th to 4th millennia depending on location was one of great environmental and cultural change It is termed the Mesolithic Period Middle Stone Age to emphasize its transitional importance but the alternative term Epipaleolithic used mostly in eastern Europe stresses the continuity with processes begun earlier A Moure El Origen del Hombre 1999 ISBN 8476791275 there are no sites defining the transition from the Epipalaeolithic Azilian to the Early Mesolithic p 249 Thomas Homer L A Handbook of Archaeology Cultures and Sites North Africa Egypt Southwest Asia Mediterranean Northwest Europe Northern Europe Volume 1 1996 Paul Astroms Forlag ISBN 9170811229 978 9170811227 referring to the Azilian Jones Emily Lena In Search of the Broad Spectrum Revolution in Paleolithic Southwest Europe pp 5 6 2015 Springer ISBN 3319223518 978 3319223513 google books Straus Lawrence Guy p 310 in Bailey and Spikins Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory 2nd Edition eds Eric Delson Ian Tattersall et al p 236 2004 Routledge ISBN 1135582289 978 1135582289 google books quoted Bailey and Spikins 4 Straus Lawrence Guy in Bailey and Spikins 312 Stjerna 1910 p 2 Stjerna 1910 p 12 a persiste pendant la periode paleolithique recente et meme pendant la periode protoneolithique Stjerna 1910 p 12 Obermaier Hugo 1924 Fossil man in Spain New Haven Yale University Press p 322 References EditBailey Geoff and Spikins Penny Mesolithic Europe 2008 Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521855039 978 0521855037 Simmons Alan H The Neolithic Revolution in the Near East Transforming the Human Landscape 2007 University of Arizona Press ISBN 978 0816529667 google books Stjerna Knut 1910 Les groupes de civilisation en Scandinavie a l epoque des sepultures a galerie L Anthropologie in French XXI 1 34 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Epipalaeolithic amp oldid 1122412313, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
