Terminology, Process and Change: Reflections on the Epipalaeolithic of South-west Asia

Tobias Richter; Lisa Maher

doi:10.1179/0075891413z.00000000020

Terminology, Process and Change: Reflections on the Epipalaeolithic of South-west Asia

Tobias Richter, Lisa Maher

Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The term Epipalaeolithic, like the Neolithic, was coined in the context of late 19th- and early 20thcentury archaeological research in Europe and North Africa. It arrived later in South-west Asia, where it was used to contrast late glacial hunter-gatherers with the sedentary, socially complex farmers of the Holocene aceramic Neolithic. In this contribution we reflect on the history of Epipalaeolithic terminology, its past and current use as an interpretive heuristic, and consider how data from recent research affect (and perhaps call into question) the validity and perceived meaning of the term as it is applied to the Neolithic transition in South-west Asia.

Original language	English
Journal	Levant: The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant
Volume	45
Issue number	2
Pages (from-to)	121-132
Number of pages	12
ISSN	0075-8914
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1179/0075891413z.00000000020
Publication status	Published - Nov 2013

Keywords

Faculty of Humanities
Epipalaeolithic
Prehistoric Archaeology
LEVANT
Near Eastern Archaeology

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10.1179/0075891413z.00000000020

http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/0075891413Z.00000000020

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AB - The term Epipalaeolithic, like the Neolithic, was coined in the context of late 19th- and early 20thcentury archaeological research in Europe and North Africa. It arrived later in South-west Asia, where it was used to contrast late glacial hunter-gatherers with the sedentary, socially complex farmers of the Holocene aceramic Neolithic. In this contribution we reflect on the history of Epipalaeolithic terminology, its past and current use as an interpretive heuristic, and consider how data from recent research affect (and perhaps call into question) the validity and perceived meaning of the term as it is applied to the Neolithic transition in South-west Asia.

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KW - Prehistoric Archaeology

KW - LEVANT

KW - Near Eastern Archaeology

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JO - Levant: The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant

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Terminology, Process and Change: Reflections on the Epipalaeolithic of South-west Asia

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Keywords

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