Milner, N. & P. Woodman. 2005. Mesolithic Studies at the Beginning of the 21st Century. – Oxford, Oxbow Books
Abstract
Compared to the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic the Mesolithic has only lately, i.e. in the 1920s and 1930s, been accepted as an equally important research area within European prehistory. Since than Mesolithic research has mainly been focussing on fairly simple interpretative frameworks by means of a mainly processual approach emphasising the role/impact of the palaeo–environment on hunter–gatherer life way. Post–processual thinking and theoretical discussions still have very limited impact on Mesolithic research in Europe. However, during the last two meetings of ‘The Mesolithic in Europe’ congress in Stockholm (2000) and Belfast (2005) the number of papers dealing with more theoretical approaches of traditional Mesolithic topics, such as mobility, seasonality, complexity, etc. increased markedly. The present publication ‘Mesolithic Studies at the Beginning of the 21st Century’, edited by Nicky Milner and Peter Woodman, is another prove of this new direction in Mesolithic research. Read more...