Abstract: Human colonization in India encompasses a span of at least half-a-million years and is divided into two broad periods, namely the prehistoric (before the emergence of writing) and the historic (after writing). The prehistoric period is divided into stone, bronze and iron ages. The stone age is further divided into palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic periods. As the name suggests, the technology in these periods was primarily based on stone. Economically, the palaeolithic and mesolithic periods represented a nomadic, hunting-gathering way of life, while the neolithic period represented a settled, food-producing way of life. Subsequently copper was introduced as a new material and this period was designated as the chalcolithic period. The invention of agriculture, which took place about 8000 years ago, brought about dramatic changes in the economy, technology and demography of human societies. Human habitat in the hunting-gathering stage was essentially on hilly, rocky and forested regions, which had ample wild plant and animal food resources. The introduction of agriculture saw it shifting to the alluvial plains which had fertile soil and perennial availability of water. Hills and forests, which had so far been areas of attraction, now turned into areas of isolation.

Abstract: List of Colour Plates List of Maps Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Peopling of Europe, 700,000-400,000 Years before the Present 2. The Upper Paleolithic Revolution 3. The Mesolithic Age 4. The First Farmers 5. The Transformation of Early Agrarian Europe: The Later Neolithic and Copper Ages, 4500-2500 BC 6. The Palace Civilizations of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece, 2000-1200 BC 7. The Emergence of Elites: Earlier Bronze Age Europe, 2500-1300 BC 8. The Collapse of Aegean Civilization at the End of the Late Bronze Age 9. Reformation in Barbarian Europe, 1300-600 BC 10. Iron Age Societies in Western Europe and Beyond: 800-140 BC 11. Thracians, Scythians, and Dacians, 800 BC-AD 300 12. The Impact of Rome on Barbarian Society, 140 BC-AD300 13. Barbarian Europe, AD 300-700 Further Reading Chronological Tables Acknowledgement of Sources Index

Abstract: This paper discusses the results of recent wear analysis on a series of 467 microliths excavated at the early Mesolithic (8410–7930 cal B.C.) site of Verrebroek in Belgium. Based on both macro-frac...

Abstract: During the past decade research into the German Final Paleolithic and Mesolithic has experienced an important revival. One clear sign of this renewed interest in the periods are the annual meetings of the “Arbeitsgruppe Mesolithikum” (Mesolithic Working Group) which have taken place every spring since 1992. At these meetings, which take place at changing venues, topical themes of Final Paleolithic and Mesolithic interest are presented by informal lectures and it is also possible to study regional collections (artifacts, raw materials) at first hand. Numerous contributions were subsequently published together in one volume (Conard and Kind (1998) Aktuelle Forschungen zum Mesolithikum/Current Mesolithic Research, Mo Vince, Tubingen). The present paper intends to complement that collection of papers with a synthesis of developments and perspectives and to present recent research highlights in the German Final Paleolithic and Mesolithic, together with a comprehensive bibliography, to a wider international audience.

Abstract: The cave of Theopetra is located on the northeast side of a limestone rock formation, 3 km south of Kalambaka (21 degrees 40'46"E, 39 degrees 40'51"N), in Thessaly, central Greece. It is a unique prehistoric site for Greece, as the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods are present here, bridging the Pleistocene with the Holocene. Several alternations of the climate during the Pleistocene are recognized in its stratigraphy. Among the most striking finds, two human skeletons, one from the Upper Paleolithic period after the Last Glacial Maximum and one from the Mesolithic period, should be emphasized, while in a deep Middle Paleolithic layer, the oldest human footprints, with remains of fire, were uncovered. During the 13 years of excavation, evidence of human activity suitable for radiocarbon dating was collected, such as charcoal samples from hearths and bones from the two human skeletons. The use of proportional counters for the measurement of (super 14) C in combination with the recent improvement of the calibration curve has enabled the production of high-precision reliable ages Sixty (super 14) C-dated samples, originating from 19 pits and from depths ranging from 0.10 m to 4.20 m, have already provided an absolute time framework for the use of the cave. The earliest limit of human presence probably exceeds 48,000 BP and the latest reaches World War II. Within these limits the (super 14) C dating of samples from consecutive layers, in combination with the archaeological data, permits the resolution of successive anthropogenic and environmental events.

Abstract: The paper reviews the status of the Mesolithic/Neolitihc interface in Greece. It is argued that the old dichotomy between “indigenists” and “diffusionists” concerning the neolithization of Greece is simplistic. Instead it is proposed that the discussion should be focused on two separate issues: one factual, emphasizing the form of phenomena and their archaeological description and one interpretive focusing more on content. Concerning the first issue, the hypothesis is made that the discontinuity in the Mesolithic/Neolithic interface is probably the result of the incomplete archaeological record and the biased research on long-term Neolithic sites in Thessaly. As for the second issue, the shift to the Neolithic can be better understood as an effort to control society and its conflicts by manipulating physical and conceptual resources and by constructing new identities.

Abstract: Through personal observations and a literature study we have made a synthesis of the most ancient healed trephinations in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin. Cases of small dimensions that were carried out with simple techniques are found in the Mesolithic populations from North Africa, Ukraine and Portugal. The first Neolithic examples of trephinations are extensive and have been realised with more sophisticated techniques. This suggests that the development of agriculture was accompanied by the command of new procedures in the field of surgery.

Abstract: The Neolithic ditched enclosures of the Tavoliere have been subject to various interpretations since their initial identification during the Second World War. The first part of this paper provides a critical review of these interpretations. The second part then sets out to re-write the history of the ditched enclosures, drawing upon a new radiocarbon chronology, the results of recent archaeological excavations, and developments in interpretative archaeology. By paying due attention to the depositional sequences at these sites, it becomes evident that the ditched enclosures of the Tavoliere were never static finished entities, but rather were always in a dynamic accumulative process of construction and modification, excavation and deposition, occupation and abandonment. Also, by regarding the ditched enclosures as an integral part of a dynamic material cultural process, it is argued that the ditches played an active role in forming and transforming social relations in the Mesolithic and Neolithic of the Tavoliere.

Abstract: Collective tombs are a characteristic feature of Neolithic societies of Western Europe. Some recent studies have suggested that they originated from an earlier tradition of individual burials at the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition. The concept of collective burial involving movement and manipulation of bodies and body parts is, however, entirely different. The former tries to preserve the integrity of the bodies and does not acknowledge the stages of metamorphosis of the corpse. The latter by contrast involves observation and assistance in the dissolution of the body. Recent discoveries of Early Mesolithic collective tombs in southern Belgium have underlined the fact that collective burials are far from restricted to Neolithic contexts in Western Europe. They themselves, however, are not merely a potential point of origin for Middle and Late Neolithic collective tombs but form part of a long-standing tradition reaching back into the Upper Palaeolithic.

Abstract: This paper presents archaeological and palynological evidence for long continuation of the Mesolithic way of life in east-central Europe irrespective of the presence of early Neolithic farmers. The complete Neolithization of the area took place only about 3500 BC, as a consequence of long-term interactions between indigenous foragers and exotic farmers.

Abstract: The paper deals with a first anthropological approach to an important Portuguese Mesolithic osteological series. It concerns the human skeletal remains exhumed from several shell middens of Sado River, south Portugal. From the total of 11 shell middens, 6 provided human skeletal remains. Three of these, namely, Arapouco, Amoreiras and Pocas de S. Bento, are here analysed. In all, it is an assemblage of 53 individuals, approximately half of the whole osteological sample, dated from around 7,200 BP. Whenever possible, inhumation positions are presented, sexual distribution and age profile are given. Morphological aspects are discussed as well as the most relevant pathological cases. The value of this sample for the understanding of the Mesolithic way of life is undeniable, turning genuine the expectations about the palaeobiological results of the whole series, which is under way.

Abstract: An assemblage of 366 lithics was recovered during the characterisation of archaeological deposits, from deposits which appear to represent a scooped occupation. Analysis of the assemblage and a radiocarbon date range of 6355-6012 cal BC indicate that it belongs to the Mesolithic. The site is significant because it is the first Mesolithic material to have been recovered by excavation in the Girvan area. It also provides additional evidence for a class of semipermanent Mesolithic sites consisting of shallow scoops surrounded by turf or earthen banks.

Abstract: The wetland site of Verrebroek Dok situated in northern Belgium is one of the largest and best dated locations of Mesolithic material in northwestern Europe. Salvage excavations organized since 1992 at this large, unstratified open-air settlement have revealed more than 50 spatially independent artifact concentrations with traces of numerous fireplaces. Single entity dating of charred hazelnut shells from surface-hearths and charcoal from hearth-pits was used to obtain information not only on the sites duration, but also on the relation between the surface hearths and the hearth-pits. The dates were also used to look at discrepancies between the radiocarbon chronology and the typo-chronology of the lithic artifacts.

Abstract: Excavations at the site of Smakkerup Huse on the island of Zealand, Denmark, have revealed Late Mesolithic Ertebolle deposits, dating between 5000 and 3900 B.C. Preservation was excellent and a variety of bone, antler, wood, and other plant remains were recovered in the waterlogged deposits, along with stone and ceramic artifacts. The remains document a diverse subsistence base utilizing both marine and terrestrial foods, an elaborate wood technology, new artifact types, and some of the oldest domestic cows in Scandinavia. This report provides background information on the site, and discusses the artifacts and plant and animal remains. The question of domestic animals in the Late Mesolithic is addressed.

Abstract: ed historical processes and assuming that they result in 'complexity'.

Abstract: Bailingdong cave, located in the southern suburb of Liuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China, is one of the few sites in China with continuous records of the Paleolithic Mesolithic Neolithic transition. Systematic excavations since 1973 have led to the discovery of 2 hominid teeth assigned to late Homo sapiens, mammalian fossils representing about 30 species and more than 500 stone artifacts. Two sets of deposits occur at the eastern and western sides of the cave, respectively. The former can be divided into 8 layers, and the latter into 10. The East Layers 1—3 correspond to early and middle Neolithic, the West Layers 4—7 to late Paleolithic and the East Layers 4—6 to Mesolithic. The “Big Flowstone” marking the boundary of Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods correlates the East Layer 7 and the upper part of the West Layer 4. The hominid fossil teeth were recovered from the West Layer 7 (Fig.1). Previous age determination using conventional 14 C dating of cave calcites and freshwater shells, AMS 14 C dating of charcoal grains and freshwater shells and U series dating of fossil materials confines the entire depositional column within a time range between 37 and 7ka, with the end of the Paleolithic period at 20ka±, and the beginning of the Neolithic at 12ka±.In this study, we have carried out U series dating on intercalated speleothem formations. The results show that the “Big Flowstone” is of an age of 15ka±, which is 5ka± younger than 14 C dating, the difference being indicative of the “dead carbon” interference. The duration of Mesolithic time should thus be less than 3ka±. Our results also indicate that the cave's lower strata encompass much greater a time span than defined by 14 C results, and the “Bailiandong style flaking technique” evolved over at least 150ka. The flowstone of the West Layer 6 and a coeval stalagmite are 160ka± old, marking the minimum age of the hominid teeth. The backdating of the cave's lower strata may imply an early presence of modern H. sapiens in southern China. However, at Bailiandong the hominid is represented only through isolated teeth, so its exact phylogenetic position can hardly be assured. Nevertheless, parallel studies on near by Liujiang and Tubo hominid sites came out in support of the results given here. Taken together, the appearance of modern H. sapiens in China may be an event much earlier than previously accepted.

Abstract: The rescue research on Site 16 in Lany Male, Rudziniec commune, Slaskie voivodship, in the middle basin of the Klodnica River (Tributary to the Odra River), was conducted as a part of the project of preserving archaeological heritage in the area of Freeway A-4 under construction (running W-E across southern Poland). Almost simultaneously an inter-disciplinary program has been initiated, focused on estimation of environmental elements influencing the intensive pre- and protohistoric settlement in this area. A natural history part of the research included examination of geology and today's soil cover of the right-hand part of the drainage area of the Klodnica River in the vicinity of the site, and also the assessment of the natural landscape leading to paleographic reconstruction. The latter goal should be obtained through pollen and palaeobotanical analyses, as well as observation of changes of sediments of the valley floor. A short-time excavation of Site 16, conducted in November 1997 by T. Kubiczek (during the freeway construction) revealed features dated from the Stone Age, early centuries AD, and the Early Medieval Period. The excavation of 1998 covered the area of ca. 131 ares and resulted in discovering 1500 archaeological features. There were remains of houses (raised above the ground, occasionally of pole-beam construction, and also partially dug into the ground) with fireplaces, huts, ovens (rectangular and circular), detached fireplaces, as well as pits of various types and use. Recovered material includes mainly artifacts made of stone, clay, metal (bronze, iron), bone, and glass, as well as palaeobotanical remains and animal bones. The collection represents several chronological phase of the occupation of the area. They are: 1 - the Stone Age (Late Paleolithic and Mesolithic Periods): strayed artifacts of the WitOw group of the Tardi-Gravettian culture, of the Komornica culture, the Technocomplex with Leaf Points, and possibly of the Funnel Beaker culture; 2 - the end of the Stone Age and the Early Bronze Age - strayed flint artifacts and a vessel fragment of the Corded Ware culture; 3 - the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age - a large (two-phased?) settlement of the Lusatian culture; 4 - the Late Roman Period - a settlement of the Przeworsk culture; 5 - the Early Medieval Period - a Slavic settlement from 7 t h (?) and 8 t h -9 t h centuries AD; 6 - Late Medieval Period and modern times - single features. Nineteen charcoal samples from 17 features have been dated with radiocarbon method. The calibrated dates indicate the earlier phase of the settlement of the Lusatian culture of the Upper Silurian-Lesser Polish group was continuously used from the beginning. 1st millennium BC (the 2 n d half of Bronze Age IV to the beginning of HB according to P. Reinecke and O. Montelius) until 8 th-6th centuries, or - at most - till 5 t h century (HC-D). The younger phase is dated to the Late Pre-Roman (La Tene) Period, or possibly later. Dates obtained from samples from the Przeworsk culture features range between 1710′50 BP (Ki-7517) and 1565′60 BP (Ki-7138). i.e. cover the period of 200-250 years. According to calibrated calendar chronology this period ranges from the 2 n d half of the 3 r d century to the 5 t h or the 6 t h century (Periods C2-D). One Early Medieval date, corroborated with chronological position of the featured determined on the basis of the artifacts, is 1080′50 (Ki-7510).

Abstract: The slopes of the Tagerup promontory in western Scania contain one of the largest known Mesolithic settlements that has ever been excavated in Scandinavia. The Tagerup site displays a unique combination of huts and houses, graves and wooden implements, flints and bones which constitute a 1500-year-long Mesolithic occupation sequence, dated 6500–5000 cal BC. During that time, there were gradual but far-reaching changes in settlement structure and organization, the use of the landscape, flint technology and food procurement strategies.