Epipaleolithic

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Epipaleolithic

The Epipaleolithic is a term used for the "final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the Mesolithic

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age....
".

The term is sometimes confused with Mesolithic

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age....
, and the two are sometimes used as synonyms. Yet, when a distinction is made, Epipaleolithic is used for those cultures that were not much affected by the ending of the Ice Age (like the Natufian culture of Western Asia) and the term Mesolithic is reserved for Western Europe where the extinction of the Megafauna

Megafauna

The term megafauna has two distinct meanings in the biological sciences. The less commonly found meaning is of any animal which can be seen with the unaided eye, in contrast to microfauna....
had a great impact of the paleolithic populations at the end of the Ice Age (like European post-glacial cultures: Azilian

Azilian

The Azilian is a name given by archaeologists to an archaeological industry of the Epipaleolithic in northern Spain and southern France.It probably dates to the period of the Aller?d Oscillation around 10,000 years ago and followed the Magdalenian culture....
, Sauveterrian

Sauveterrian

The Sauveterrian is the name for an archaeological culture of the European Epipaleolithic which flourished around 7000-8000 years BC. The name is derived from the type site of Sauveterre le L?mance in the French of Lot et Garonne....
, Tardenoisian

Tardenoisian

The Tardenoisian is an archaeological culture of the Epipaleolithic period from north-western France and Belgium. Similar cultures are known further east in central Europe and west across Spain....
, Maglemosian, etc.).

The term is some times used in the opposite meaning, 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.

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Encyclopedia

The Epipaleolithic is a term used for the "final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the Mesolithic
Mesolithic

The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age....
".

The term is sometimes confused with Mesolithic
Mesolithic

The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age....
, and the two are sometimes used as synonyms. Yet, when a distinction is made, Epipaleolithic is used for those cultures that were not much affected by the ending of the Ice Age (like the Natufian culture of Western Asia) and the term Mesolithic is reserved for Western Europe where the extinction of the Megafauna
Megafauna

The term megafauna has two distinct meanings in the biological sciences. The less commonly found meaning is of any animal which can be seen with the unaided eye, in contrast to microfauna....
had a great impact of the paleolithic populations at the end of the Ice Age (like European post-glacial cultures: Azilian
Azilian

The Azilian is a name given by archaeologists to an archaeological industry of the Epipaleolithic in northern Spain and southern France.It probably dates to the period of the Aller?d Oscillation around 10,000 years ago and followed the Magdalenian culture....
, Sauveterrian
Sauveterrian

The Sauveterrian is the name for an archaeological culture of the European Epipaleolithic which flourished around 7000-8000 years BC. The name is derived from the type site of Sauveterre le L?mance in the French of Lot et Garonne....
, Tardenoisian
Tardenoisian

The Tardenoisian is an archaeological culture of the Epipaleolithic period from north-western France and Belgium. Similar cultures are known further east in central Europe and west across Spain....
, Maglemosian, etc.).

The term is some times used in the opposite meaning, 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"

Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary List of subsistence techniques involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either....
s made relatively advanced tools from small flint
Flint

Flint is a hard, sedimentary rock cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as Nodule s and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones....
or obsidian
Obsidian

Obsidian is a naturally occurring glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth....
blades, known as microlith
Microlith

A microlith is a small Rock tool, typically knapped of flint or chert, usually about three centimetres long or less; They are typically one centimetre long and half a centimetre wide when finished....
s that were hafted in wooden implements. They were generally nomad
Nomad

Nomadic people, , also known as nomads, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than Settler in one location....
ic.