Epipalaeolithic

The Epipalaeolithic (or Epi-Palaeolithic, Epipaleolithic, or Epi-Paleolithic) was a period in the development of human technology, the last period of the Palaeolithic according to some of the classification schemes used in archaeology. The Epipalaeolithic is distinguished at least in the Middle East, Anatolia and on Cyprus, that is, in areas where the Neolitisation occurs early and the post-glacial climatic change is not very marked. It immediately precedes the neolithic period, as an alternative to mesolithic.

Epipalaeolithic hunters and gatherers made relatively advanced tools made from small flint or obsidian blades, known as microliths that were hafted in wooden implements. They were hunters and gatherers and generally nomadic, although the Natufian culture of the Levant established permanent settlements.