
Contents
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Physical Geography Physical Geography
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Subsistence Strategies Subsistence Strategies
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Archaeozoological and Malacological Evidence Archaeozoological and Malacological Evidence
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Plant Resource Use Plant Resource Use
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Stable Isotope Data Stable Isotope Data
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Lithic Raw Material Procurement and Mobility Lithic Raw Material Procurement and Mobility
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Lithic Assemblages Lithic Assemblages
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Early Mesolithic Early Mesolithic
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Late Mesolithic Late Mesolithic
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Bone and Antler Technology Bone and Antler Technology
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Treatment of the Dead Treatment of the Dead
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Personal Ornaments Personal Ornaments
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On Caves and Open-Air Sites On Caves and Open-Air Sites
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Mesolithic Traditions and Dynamics Mesolithic Traditions and Dynamics
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References References
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18 The Eastern Mediterranean
Get accessNena Galanidou, University of Crete
Nikola Vukosavljević, University of Zagreb
Catherine Perlès, University of Nanterre
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Published:20 February 2025
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Abstract
The chapter offers a succinct account of the Mesolithic archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean and identifies patterns of similarity and difference across time and space. This large and heterogenous region combines a rugged and mountainous mainland terrain, an extensive and intricate shoreline, and numerous islands. In the east, the Aegean sites offer more examples of cultural and economic discontinuity from the preceding Upper Palaeolithic period as well as novelty, sharp economic transformations, and an overall acceleration of change compared to the Adriatic-Ionian sites in the west. The Aegean Mesolithic record points to a mosaic of people and lifestyles, partly owing to the increasing, yet intermittent, role of the sea in subsistence, partly to the regional proximity to Anatolia and Near East, and partly to a broken geography. The Eastern Adriatic Early Mesolithic record is marked by continuity rather than change, with only a few scanty signs of difference, while the Late Mesolithic brings significant changes, both in technology and subsistence. The eastern Mediterranean region, as a whole, exhibits spatiotemporal variability in the funerary rituals, economic strategies, and technical traditions of stone and bone tool manufacture that can be best explained by cultural differences. Archaeological finds from ‘hunters in transition’ are visible in the record, alongside finds manifesting continuation of the earlier traditions in technology and subsistence, and finds of newcomers with brand new cultural signatures.
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