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34-595: Epipalaeolithic Near East Caucasus Zagros Maglemosian ( c.  9000 – c.  6000 BC) is the name given to a culture of the early Mesolithic period in Northern Europe . In Scandinavia , the culture was succeeded by the Kongemose culture. The name originates from the Danish archeological site Maglemose , situated near Gørlev and Høng on western Zealand , southwest of lake Tissø . Here

68-614: A period of transition. The Levant became more arid and the forest vegetation retreated, to be replaced by steppe . The cool and dry period ended at the beginning of Mesolithic 1. The hunter-gatherers of the Aurignacian would have had to modify their way of living and their pattern of settlement to adapt to the changing conditions. The crystallization of these new patterns resulted in Mesolithic 1. The people developed new types of settlements and new stone industries. The inhabitants of

102-511: A small Mesolithic 1 site in the Levant left little more than their chipped stone tools behind. The industry was of small tools made of bladelets struck off single-platform cores. Besides bladelets, burins and end- scrapers have been found. A few bone tools and some ground stones have also been found. These so-called Mesolithic sites of Asia are far less numerous than those of the Neolithic, and

136-886: Is also called the Natufian culture . This period is characterized by the early rise of agriculture , which later emerged more fully in the Neolithic period. Radiocarbon dating places the Natufian culture between 12,500 and 9500 BCE, just before the end of the Pleistocene . This period is characterised by the beginning of agriculture. The Natufian culture is commonly split into two subperiods: Early Natufian (12,500–10,800 BCE) (Christopher Delage gives c. 13,000–11,500 BP uncalibrated, equivalent to c. 13,700–11,500 BCE) and Late Natufian (10,800–9500 BCE). The Late Natufian most likely occurred in tandem with

170-555: Is the period after the Upper Palaeolithic and before the Neolithic , between approximately 20,000 and 10,000 years Before Present (BP). The people of the Epipalaeolithic were nomadic hunter-gatherers who generally lived in small, seasonal camps rather than permanent villages. They made sophisticated stone tools using microliths —small, finely-produced blades that were hafted in wooden implements. These are

204-858: The Kebaran culture, c. 20,000 to 14,500 years ago, the Middle Epipalaeolithic is the Geometric Kebaran or late phase of the Kebaran , and the Late Epipalaeolithic to the Natufian , 14,500–11,500 BP. The Natufian overlaps with the incipient Neolithic Revolution , the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A . The Early Epipalaeolithic, also known as Kebaran , lasted from 20,000 to 12,150 BP. It followed

238-482: The Epipalaeolithic . The appearance of the Kebaran culture, of microlithic type, implies a significant rupture in the cultural continuity of Levantine Upper Paleolithic. The Kebaran culture, with its use of microliths, is associated also with the use of the bow and arrow and the domestication of the dog. The Kebaran is also characterised by the earliest collecting and processing of wild cereals, known due to

272-455: The Geometric Kebaran , a Levantine industry associated with the Middle Epipalaeolithic. The excavators of the site, therefore, proposed that northern Arabia was colonised by foragers from the Levant around 15,000 years ago. These groups may then have been cut off by the drying climate and retreated to refugia like the Jubbah palaeolake. The Epipalaeolithic is best understood when discussing

306-559: The Natufian , and 12,000 years before the establishment of sedentary farming communities in the Near East during the Neolithic Revolution . Furthermore, the new finds accord well with evidence for the earliest ever cereal cultivation at the site, and for the use of stone-made grinding implements. Evidence for symbolic behavior of Late Pleistocene foragers in the Levant has been found in engraved limestone plaquettes from

340-613: The Younger Dryas . The following period is often called the Pre-Pottery Neolithic . Fertile Crescent : Europe : Africa : Siberia : Until recently, it was thought that the Arabian Peninsula was too arid and inhospitable for human settlement in the Late Pleistocene. The earliest known sites belonged to the early Neolithic, c. 9000 to 8000 BP, and it was supposed that people were able to recolonise

374-584: The Epipalaeolithic open-air site Ein Qashish South in the Jezreel Valley, Palestine. The engravings were uncovered in Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran deposits (ca. 23,000 and ca. 16,500 BP), and include the image of a bird, the first figurative representation known so far from a pre-Natufian Epipalaeolithic site, together with geometric motifs such as chevrons, cross-hatchings, and ladders. Some of

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408-605: The Levant has been found in engraved limestone plaquettes from the Epipaleolithic open-air site Ein Qashish South in the Jezreel Valley , Israel. The engravings were uncovered in Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran deposits (ca. 23,000 and ca. 16,500 BP), and include the image of a bird, the first figurative representation known so far from a pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic site in the region, together with geometric motifs such as chevrons , cross-hatchings and ladders. Some of

442-477: The Maglemosian culture in the future. The Maglemosian people lived in forest and wetland environments, using fishing and hunting tools made from wood, bone, and flint microliths . It appears that they had domesticated the dog . Some may have lived settled lives, but most were nomadic. Huts made of bark have been preserved, in addition to tools made of flint , bone , and horn . A characteristic feature of

476-614: The Upper Paleolithic Levantine Aurignacian (formerly called Antelian ) period throughout the Levant. By the end of the Levantine Aurignacian, gradual changes took place in stone industries. Small stone tools called microliths and retouched bladelets can be found for the first time. The microliths of this culture period differ markedly from the Aurignacian artifacts. By 18,000 BP the climate and environment had changed, starting

510-558: The archeological remains are very poor. The type site is Kebara Cave south of Haifa . The Kebaran was characterized by small, geometric microliths . The people were thought to lack the specialized grinders and pounders found in later Near Eastern cultures. The Kebaran is preceded by the Athlitian phase of the Levantine Aurignacian (formerly called Antelian ) and followed by the proto-agrarian Natufian culture of

544-525: The coast, the rather small number of seashells found (7 genera) and the piercing of many, suggests these may have been collected as ornaments rather than food. However, the period seems to be marked by an increase in plant foods and a decrease in meat-eating. Over 40 plant species have been found by analysing one site in the Jordan Valley , and some grains were processed and baked. Stones with evidence of grinding have been found. These were most likely

578-464: The cultural continuity of Levantine Upper Paleolithic. The Kebaran culture, with its use of microliths, is associated with the use of the bow and arrow and the domestication of the dog. The Kebaran is also characterised by the earliest collecting of wild cereals, known due to the uncovering of grain grinding tools. It was the first step towards the Neolithic Revolution . The Kebaran people are believed to have practiced dispersal to upland environments in

612-416: The culture is the sharply edged microliths of flintstone, used for spear and arrow heads. Another notable feature is the leister , a characteristic type of fishing spear, used for gigging . Danish-language texts Epipalaeolithic Near East The Epipalaeolithic Near East designates the Epipalaeolithic ("Final Old Stone Age", also known as Mesolithic ) in the prehistory of the Near East . It

646-407: The end of the last ice age , when the ice retreated and the glaciers melted. It was a long process and sea levels in Northern Europe did not reach current levels until almost 6000 BC, by which time they had inundated large territories previously inhabited by Maglemosian people. Therefore, there is hope that the emerging discipline of underwater archaeology may reveal interesting findings related to

680-606: The engravings closely resemble roughly contemporary European finds, and may be interpreted as "systems of notations" or "artificial memory systems" related to the timing of seasonal resources and related important events for nomadic groups. Similar looking signs and patterns are well known from the context of the local Natufia, a final Epipaleolithic period when sedentary or semi-sedentary foragers started practicing agriculture. The engravings found in Ein Qashish South involve symbolic conceptualization. They suggest that

714-469: The engravings closely resemble roughly contemporary European finds, and may be interpreted as "systems of notations" or "artificial memory systems" related to the timing of seasonal resources and related important events for nomadic groups. Similar-looking signs and patterns are well known from the context of the local Natufian , a final Epipalaeolithic period when sedentary or semi-sedentary foragers started practicing agriculture. The Late Epipalaeolithic

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748-444: The excavation of grain-grinding tools. This was the first step towards the Neolithic Revolution . The Kebaran people are believed to have migrated seasonally, dispersing to upland environments in the summer, and gathering in caves and rock shelters near lowland lakes in the winter. This diversity of environments may be the reason for the variety of tools found in their toolkits. The Kebaran is generally thought to have been ancestral to

782-466: The figurative and non-figurative images comprise a coherent assemblage of symbols that might have been applied in order to store, share and transmit information related to the social activities and the subsistence of mobile bands. They also suggest a level of social complexity in pre-Natufian foragers in the Levant. The apparent similarity in graphics throughout the Late Pleistocene world and

816-469: The first settlement of the culture was excavated in 1900, by George Sarauw. During the following century a long series of similar settlements were excavated from England to Poland and from Skåne in Sweden to northern France . When the Maglemosian culture flourished, sea levels were much lower than now and what is now mainland Europe and Scandinavia were linked with Britain. The cultural period overlaps

850-569: The first time. The microliths of this culture period differ greatly from the Aurignacian artifacts. The Kebaran is preceded by the final phase of the Upper Paleolithic Levantine Aurignacian (also known as the Athlitian or Antelian) and followed by the proto-agrarian Natufian culture of the Epipalaeolithic . The appearance of the Kebaran culture, of microlithic type implies a significant rupture in

884-657: The gradual retreat of glacial climatic conditions between the Last Glacial Maximum and the start of the Holocene , and it is characterised by population growth and economic intensification. The Epipalaeolithic ended with the " Neolithic Revolution " and the onset of domestication , food production , and sedentism , although archaeologists now recognise that these trends began in the Epipalaeolithic. The period may be subdivided into Early, Middle and Late Epipalaeolithic: The Early Epipalaeolithic corresponds to

918-671: The later Natufian culture that occupied much of the same range. The earliest evidence for the use of composite cereal harvesting tools are the glossed flint blades that have been found at the site of Ohalo II , a 23,000-year-old fisher-hunter-gatherers’ camp on the shore of the Sea of Galilee , Northern Palestine. The Ohalo site is dated at the junction of the Upper Paleolithic and the Early Epipalaeolithic, and has been attributed to both periods. The wear traces on

952-618: The main food sources throughout the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, which introduced the widespread agricultural growing of crops. Kebaran The Kebaran is the first phase of the Epipalaeolithic in the Levant . Kebaran stone tool assemblages are characterized by small, geometric microliths , and are thought to have lacked the specialized grinders and pounders found in later Near Eastern cultures. Small stone tools called microliths and retouched bladelets can be found for

986-427: The primary artifacts by which archaeologists recognise and classify Epipalaeolithic sites. The start of the Epipalaeolithic is defined by the appearance of microliths. Although this is an arbitrary boundary, the Epipalaeolithic does differ significantly from the preceding Upper Palaeolithic. Epipalaeolithic sites are more numerous, better preserved, and can be accurately radiocarbon dated . The period coincides with

1020-476: The region then due to the wetter climate of the early Holocene. However, in 2014, archaeologists working in the southern Nefud desert discovered an Epipalaeolithic site dating to between 12,000 and 10,000 BP. The site is located in the Jubbah basin, a palaeolake which retained water in the otherwise dry conditions of the Terminal Pleistocene. The stone tools found bore a close resemblance to

1054-525: The southern Levant , as the period is well documented due to good preservation at the sites, at least of animal remains. The most prevalent animal food sources in the Levant during this period were: deer, gazelle, and ibex of various species, and smaller animals including birds, lizards, foxes, tortoises, and hares. Less common were aurochs , wild equids , wild boar, wild cattle, and hartebeest . At Neve David near Haifa , 15 mammal species were found, and two reptile species. Despite then being very close to

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1088-487: The summer, and aggregation in caves and rock shelters near lowland lakes in the winter. This diversity of environments may be the reason for the variety of tools found in their kits. Situated in the Terminal Pleistocene , the Kebaran is classified as an Epipalaeolithic society. They are generally thought to have been ancestral to the later Natufian culture that occupied much of the same range, who advanced

1122-404: The tools indicate that these were used for harvesting near-ripe, semi-green wild cereals, shortly before grains ripen enough to disperse naturally. The study shows that the tools were not used intensively, and they reflect two harvesting modes: flint knives held by hand and inserts hafted into a handle. The finds reveal the existence of cereal harvesting techniques and tools some 8,000 years before

1156-572: The use of wild grains, building on the Kebaran traits to acquire some symptoms of permanent settlements, agriculture, and hints of civilization. In the prehistoric site of Ein Gev , the skeleton of a 30-40 year old woman associated with the Kebaran was discovered. The morphological characteristics assigned the individual to a Proto-Mediterranean population, being very similar to the Natufians. Evidence for symbolic behavior of Late Pleistocene foragers in

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