Mesolithic Europe

Description

This book focuses on the archaeology of the hunter-gatherer societies that inhabited Europe in the millennia between the last Ice Age and the spread of agriculture, between ten thousand and five thousand years ago. Traditionally viewed as a period of cultural stagnation, new data now demonstrate that this was a period of radical change and innovation. This was the period that witnessed the colonisation of extensive new territory at high latitudes and high altitudes following postglacial climatic change, the development of seafaring, and the synthesis of the technological, economic, and social capabilities that underpinned the later development of agricultural and urban societies. Providing a pan-European overview, Mesolithic Europe includes regional syntheses written by experts in each region as well as a diversity of theoretical perspectives.

Geoff Bailey is Anniversary Professor of Archaeology in the department of archaeology at the University of York. He has published widely on a variety of topics in prehistory, including the major monograph on Klithi: Paleolithic Settlement and Quaternary Landscapes in Northwest Greece. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists. Penny Spikins is Lecturer in Prehistory in the department of archaeology, University of York. She has published on a broad range of topics in prehistoric archaeology and directed the West Yorkshire Mesolithic Project and the Searching for Submerged Sites Project in Northern England, and has carried out research in Argentina.

'... the book ... will become the standard reference work on the subject for both specialists and non-specialists, the first port of call when any information is needed.' Journal of Archaeological Science 'In Mesolithic Europe, Geoff Bailey and Penny Spikins are to be congratulated for having provided us with a comprehensive summary of current knowledge of the Mesolithic of much of Europe. The book is a large one which is useful in that it covers areas frequently given considerably less attention in equivalent volumes, most of which tend to concentrate on specific regions of the continent. ... One thing which becomes increasingly apparent as one reads the chapters in this book is the richness and diversity of the Mesolithic archaeological record in the areas covered. ... For this the authors and editors are to be congratulated in providing what will surely become a standard work of reference for years to come.' Cambridge Archaeological Journal 'Mesolithic Europe has allowed a remarkable gathering of well-established scholars from different traditions, and will become a key reference for students and researchers, bearing in mind the virtual absence of monographic works on this topic.' Archaeological Review from Cambridge