Sites on the Landscape: The Late Mesolithic

Abstract

The onset of the Late Mesolithic at around 7800 b.p. witnesses a major technological change in stone tool industries in this area. Extremely regular blades manufactured by pressure-flaking now dominate assemblages and the heattreating of stone raw material declines in importance. Trapezes made from these regular blades become the most characteristic microlith form, presumably used as transverse arrow points. Their appearance here is part of a continentwide process of diffusion, suggesting communication networks ultimately linking most of Europe. Notched blades and long endscrapers occur in increased numbers among the retouched tools. Antler-working, particularly for the manufacture of barbed harpoons and axes/adzes, assumes great importance. This period ends between 6500 and 6000 b.p., not long after the appearance of agricultural villages in the area.