The end of the Pleistocene is marked by a number of major environmental changes. Large game hunting began to decline as certain large animal species became extinct, and environments changed in response to warming climatic conditions. Human diet became more diversified and included more plant and animal species.

This chapter examines the early part of the Postglacial period and the continuation of a hunting and gathering way of life. In a few areas — the Near East, the Far East, and parts of the Americas — plant and animal domestication began in the early Postglacial and began to alter the foraging pattern of human subsistence. The origins of agriculture are discussed in Chapter 6.

Although different terms are used in the Old World and New World for this period — Archaic in the New World and Mesolithic in the Old World — the basic way of life was very similar, consuming a wide range of wild plant and animal species and using a highly specialized technology. An incredible range of fishing gear, including nets, weirs, hooks, and harpoons, was developed during this period. Ground stone artifacts appear as axes, celts, plant-processing equipment, and other tools. Projectile weapons were equipped with a variety of different tips made of bone, wood, antler, or stone.

Cemeteries that are sometimes present at these sites suggest more sedentary occupations. An example of a Mesolithic settlement discussed in this chapter comes from Denmark, where excavations at Vedbaek have exposed a cemetery and settlement dating to about 5000 BC. In South and East Africa, the term Late Stone Age is used to describe the artifacts and encampments of Holocene hunter-gatherers. Elands Bay Cave on the west coast of South Africa provides some indication of the way of life of these groups before the introduction of herding and farming.

In Japan, the period between the beginning of the Holocene and the introduction of rice cultivation is known as the Jomon. Nittano, on the edge of modern Tokyo, is an example of a Jomon coastal settlement and documents the importance of fishing in this area around 5,500 years ago. In North and South America, the period between 6000 and 1000 BC. is known as the Archaic. Great diversity in Archaic adaptations was seen in eastern North America, with major emphasis on fishing, hunting, and plant and nut collecting. Archaic sites such as Carrier Mills in southern Illinois document adaptations typical of this area. Settlements were often located along lakes, rivers, and coastlines to take advantage of aquatic resources. Archaic sites in the Great Plains document a major focus on bison hunting. Sites in the dry, desert west contain artifacts and organic materials that indicate an emphasis on both plant foods and hunting for subsistence. Groups in the Great Basin collected numerous seeds and nuts and hunted antelope and small game, such as rabbits. Gatecliff Shelter in Nevada contains a very deep sequence of deposits and provides a good example of such adaptations.

The blocks in this chapter deal with the environmental changes associated with the end of the Pleistocene and the characteristics of the Postglacial. Two sections concern the importance of human skeletal remains for learning about the past, with some emphasis on bone chemistry and the use of carbon isotopes. In addition, we discuss ethnographically known hunter-gatherers as survivals of the Paleolithic, displaced over time by farming societies.