Epipaleolithic

By Nigel Goring-Morris.

Upper Palaeolithic, Kebaran, Geometric Kebaran

Also see Absolute Time Period

ca. 45,000 BP - 10,100 BP. The period is divided in the Levant into the Upper Palaeolithic ca. 45,000- 22,000 BP (including Emiran or Transitional phase, Ahmarian, Levantine Aurignacian, and Atlitian); and is followed by the Early Epipaleolithic ca. 22,000-14,500 BP (sometimes also known as the Terminal Upper Palaeolithic, with the Nebekian, Late Ahmarian/Masraqan, Kebaran, and Nizzanan entities); the Middle Epipaleolithic ca. 14,500-12,500 BP (with the Geometric Kebaran, Mushabian, Ramonian, Madamaghan and Qalkhan entities); and the Late Epipaleolithic ca. 12,500-10,250/100 BP (with the Natufian Complex, which includes the Terminal Ramonian and Harifian entities). In the Zagros region, probably due to the lack of research conducted to date, only two entities are recognized - the Upper Palaeolithic Baradostian and the Epipaleolithic Zarzian.

Follows the Middle Palaeolithic tradition, overlaps with the Natufian tradition in the Levant, and precedes the Aceramic Neolithic tradition.

The Levant and Mesopotamia.

Small nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers mostly living in open-air campsites and sometimes stratified rock shelters and cave sites; almost all of the latter are located in the Mediterranean zone. Occupation sites commonly contain hearths; other features include rare, lightly constructed shelters and pits. Blade, bladelet and chipped stone tool assemblages are the main material remains, including points, scrapers, burins, and microliths. These are sometimes accompanied by bone (including antler and horn-core) tools, ochre and shell bead ornaments. Grinding and pounding equipment of limestone and basalt first appear during the Upper Palaeolithic and increase in quantity and diversity during the course of the Epipaleolithic.

Emiran or Transitional phase, Ahmarian, Levantine Aurignacian, and Atlitian; Early Epipaleolithic also known as the Terminal Upper Palaeolithic, with the Nebekian, Late Ahmarian/Masraqan, Kebaran, and Nizzanan; Middle Epipaleolithic with the Geometric Kebaran, Mushabian, Ramonian, Madamaghan and Qalkhan; and the Late Epipaleolithic with the Natufian Complex, which includes the Terminal Ramonian and Harifian. In the Zagros region there are the Upper Palaeolithic Baradostian and the Epipaleolithic Zarzian.

Abu Hureyra, Abu Noshra, Avdat area (Boqer Tachtit, Boqer, Ein Aqev, Ein Aqev East, Rosh Zin); Ein Gev, El-Kowm (Nadaouiyeh, Umm el-Tlel), El-Wad, Eynan (Mallaha), Gebel Maghara (Mushabi, Lagama), Har Harif (Rosh Horesha, Saflulim, Abu Salem, Ramat Harif), Hayonim Cave and Terrace, Kebara Cave, Ksar Akil, Lower Jordan Valley (Fazael, Urkan e-Rubb, Salibiya), Nahal Hadera (Hefziba), Nahal Oren, Neve David, Ohalo II, Qadesh Barnea, Tor Hamar, Wadi Hammeh, Wadi Hasa (Ain Buhira, Thalab al-Buhira, Tor Sadaf, Tor al-Tareeq, Ucagizli, Yutil el-Hasa), Wadi Jilat/Azraq (Jilat 6, Uwaynid, Kharaneh IV), Western Negev Dunes (Azariq, Nizzana, Nahal Lavan, Shunera, Nahal Sekher),Yabrud II-III, Zarzi.

The Epipaleolithic tradition extends across a period of dramatic climactic change. The tradition begins during the last glacial maximum when the Levant and Mesopotamia were much cooler and dryer than today. Over time the climate ameliorated, and by ca. 12,000 BP a significant warming trend led to almost ideal conditions for human habitation. By ca. 10,800 BP the cooler and dryer conditions of the Younger Dryas climatic period took hold of the region, creating the diverse mosaic of environments and microenvironments we see today. Rainfall today varies from over 1,000 mm to less than 50 mm annually, and is generally limited to winter months. Summers across the region are relatively hot and dry.

The Levant, extending some 800 km north-south and 200 km east-west, is bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the east by the Syrian and Saudi Arabian Deserts, and on the south by the Red Sea. It comprises Egyptian Sinai, Israel, Palestinian Autonomous Areas, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. As such it forms the crossroads between Africa and Eurasia. Though limited in size, it is characterized by marked topographical diversity, including the northern extension of the east African Rift system. This results in a mosaic of microenvironments, ranging from Mediterranean to hyperarid deserts. Research has primarily concentrated upon the southern and central Levant. Less research has been conducted to date in the northern Levant (Syria and Turkish Hatay). Major topographical features in the Levant include the coastal Plain, the central Mountain ridge, the Rift Valley with Lake Lisan and its successors, the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee, the Transjordanian plateau and Anti-Lebanon mountains, and the inland basins to the east (Hisme, el-Ja’afar, Azraq - Wadi Sirhan, Damascus, Palmyra, el-Kowm).

Further east, Mesopotamia (Iraq) is an extensive low-lying region to the south of the Taurus Mountains and west of their continuation, the Zagros Mountains, while to the south it is bordered by the Syrian and Saudi Arabian Deserts. The principle features are the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries, which flow southeast from the high mountain ranges through the plains to empty into the Persian Gulf. Though little research has been focused on the period under consideration, geomorphological processes of Holocene alluviation along the main river systems (Euphrates and Tigris) may explain the virtual absence of Upper Palaeolithic sites. Those sites known are located within the valleys in the foothills. The basic topography of Mesopotamia is largely flat, consisting of a low-lying basin covered by alluvium from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries, which originate in the Taurus and Zagros Mountains.

Much of area is composed of limestones, commonly with quantities of good quality flints and cherts. There are areas of basalts, granites, sandstones, malachite, marble, and asphalt, all of which were used by Epipaleolithic peoples.

A combination of topographic factors and the intersection of three quite separate weather systems result in a diverse mosaic of environmental settings, often in close proximity to one another. The Levant can be divided into a series of narrow, north-south trending environmental regions: the Mediterranean zone with dense forests or open woodlands, the Irano-Turanian steppes, the Saharo-Arabian desertic areas in the south and east with contracted vegetation, and intrusive Sudanian elements in the southern Rift Valley.

There is little direct evidence, but based on analogies with recent foraging societies, as well as upon the size and intensity of occupation of sites, it is likely that most people lived in micro-bands (10-25 individuals, comprising a few nuclear families) of mobile foragers for much of the Upper Palaeolithic. There are some large "megasites" around the Azraq basin in eastern Transjordan during the Early and Middle Epipaleolithic (Nebekian, Nizzanan, Kebaran, Qalkhan), and these may indicate local, larger periodic or seasonal aggregation of numbers of microbands. By the Late Epipaleolithic, there are small sedentary hamlets in more favorable locations in the Mediterranean zone. Although claims have been made for community sizes of up to 200 individuals, it seems probable that they rarely, if ever, exceeded 50 individuals.

There is little direct evidence, but again, based on ethnographic analogies, Epipaleolithic communities were probably egalitarian and practiced bilateral kinship. During some periods of environmental stress there may be (indirect) evidence for increasing territoriality (e.g. the various facies of the Kebaran). During the Late Epipaleolithic (particularly during its early phase), it is possible that residence patterns changed and were not based upon the nuclear family, but on some other criterion (sodality or lodge, for example - see below), though seemingly during the course of the Natufian there was a reversion to smaller (nuclear family) dwellings as adaptations again became increasingly mobile.

Solid evidence for residential architecture is virtually nonexistent for much of the Epipaleolithic, and it is presumed that shelters were lightly built of perishable materials. The exceptional preservation of the Early Epipaleolithic oval to kidney-shaped dwellings at Ohalo II are supplemented by others with stone footings or post-holes at Ein Gev I, Ein Gev III, Haon II, and Kharaneh IV. From the Early Natufian there is solidly constructed and much larger residential architecture involving oval to horseshoe shaped structures 8-16 m in diameter at Eynan (Mallaha) and Wadi Hammeh 27, Upper Besor 6, and perhaps El Wad and Hayonim terrace. A reversion to smaller structures are found in the later Natufian and Harifian at Hayonim Cave and Terrace, Nahal Oren, Rosh Zin, Abu Salem, Ramat Harif, Maaleh Ramon East and West.

The Epipaleolithic period as a whole is marked by gradual population increase.

The Epipaleolithic peoples were complex hunter-gatherers who used a wide range of plant and animal foods. Plant foods included nuts, fruits, seeds, lentils, and tubers. Animal foods included gazelle, fallow deer, and boar in more humid areas; and onager, ibex, and sheep in more arid regions. Hunters primarily used projectiles, though the increasing quantities of smaller prey later in the period indicates greater reliance on trapping and snaring. Fish were netted from the early Epipaleolithic. There is no evidence of domesticated foods. The domestication of the dog by the late Epipaleolithic Natufian was probably for a combination of social purposes and, perhaps, as a hunting aid.

The Epipaleolithic chipped stone industry is sophisticated. Common tools include pointed blades and microlithic bladelets, used either singly or increasingly over time as parts of composite tools for hunting and other tasks. Scrapers, burins and borers also appear for processing hides and for a variety of engraving, whittling and cutting, and piercing activities. Sickle blades (with polish from cutting cereal stalks) appear consistently only from the Late Epipaleolithic Natufian Complex, when people used groundstone mortars and pestles to process cereals and nuts. Projectile points were likely launched by hand and by using spear throwers, though there is some disagreement as to whether the bow and arrow were introduced during the Upper Paleolithic or much later during the Late Epipaleolithic Harifian.

With the exception of the Upper Paleolithic Aurignacian, there is only a modest bone tool industry prior to the Natufian. During the latter, bone hafts, handles, a variety of points for piercing, and fishhooks are found.

A variety of ornaments were created by Epipaleolithic peoples, increasing in number and range over time. These included pendants and beads made from marine molluscs, obtained primarily from the Mediterranean, though smaller numbers derive from fresh water sources, the Red Sea, and the Nile. There are also bone and stone beads, as well as spacers. These were used to create necklaces, bracelets, and belts. Animal teeth, particularly of the fox, and talons of birds of prey were used as ornaments as well.

Little definite evidence is available concerning Epipaleolithic sociopolitical organization. During the Upper Paleolithic, groups appear to have been highly mobile. With increasing population densities resulting from a combination of natural increases and the packing effects of the last glacial maximum, local territorial tendencies became more pronounced as reflected in increasing stylistic markers. From ethnographic accounts of complex hunter-gatherers it seems likely that social organization was based on egalitarian bands of 10-25 people, though this shifted with the beginnings of sedentism during the Late Epipaleolithic. Kinship was likely reckoned bilaterally.

There are some tantalizing pieces of evidence about Epipaleolithic religious ceremonies. For example, several large upright incised stone slabs were found in a large structure at Wadi Hammeh 27, and at Rosh Zin a small stone "monolith". Other large incised slabs with notational designs are documented at Hayonim cave. The ritual significance of these unique features is not known.

Decorative arts appear only sporadically during Upper Palaeolithic and Early and Middle Epipaleolithic, but become much more common in Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian) with bone tools and stone bowls being marked with notations, meander and herringbone designs, and animal and human representations.

Evidence concerning disposal of the dead during much of the Upper Paleolithic is almost completely absent. Yet burial of the dead becomes more ordered during the Epipaleolithic, and there appears to be more evidence of burial ceremonialism, including the removal of the skull, the burial of individuals with domesticated dogs, and the inclusion of a variety of grave goods.

The major tradition summary is from “Epipaleolithic,” by Nigel Goring-Morris from the Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 8, Peter N. Peregrine and Melvin Ember, eds. New York: Plenum Publishing Corporation, 2002. We thank Peter N. Peregrine for bibliographic suggestions.