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".^[1]

The term is sometimes confused with Mesolithic, 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^[2]) and the term Mesolithic is reserved for Western Europe where the extinction of the Megafauna had a great impact of the paleolithic populations at the end of the Ice Age (like European post-glacial cultures: Azilian, Sauveterrian, Tardenoisian, 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"^[3]

Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers made relatively advanced tools made from small flint or obsidian blades, known as microliths that were hafted in wooden implements. They were generally nomadic.

References

1. ↑ Bahn, Paul, The Penguin Archaeology Guide, Penguin, London, pp. 141. ISBN 0-14-051448-1
2. ↑ agriculture, origins of. (2008). In Encyclopędia Britannica. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from Encyclopędia Britannica Online.
3. ↑ A. Moure El Origen del Hombre, 1999. ISBN 84-7679-127-5