Epipaleolithic
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| This time period is part of the Holocene epoch. |
Holocene
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| Pleistocene |
The Epipaleolithic or Epipalaeolithic was a period in the development of human technology that precedes the Neolithic period of the Stone Age. It is preferred as an alternative to Mesolithic in areas with limited glacial impact. The period began at the end of the Pleistocene epoch around 10,000 years ago and ended with the introduction of farming around 8,000 years ago.
The Epipalaeolithic is distinguished at least in the Middle East, Anatolia and on Cyprus, that is, in areas where the Neolithic Revolution (neolithisation) occurs early and the post-glacial climatic change is not very marked.
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 hunters and gatherers and generally nomadic, although the Natufian culture of the Levant established permanent settlements.