Is There an Anatolian Mesolithic? An Assessment of the New Evidence from Western Türkiye

ABSTRACT Prehistoric research of Anatolia traditionally excludes the nomenclature “Mesolithic” from its chronological schemes, presuming that there was a swift transition from the Epipaleolithic into the Neolithic period without a window for a Mesolithic facies. This article will reassess this traditional view and argue that the Anatolian landmass is geographically too large and ecologically too variable to propose a homogeneous and linear trajectory for the entire peninsula. This diversity of paths engendered a unique cultural landscape that was fluid, idiosyncratic, and full of social and cultural encounters. By referring to the recent evidence from Karaburun and other sites, the article tries to demonstrate that coastal western Türkiye can be considered part of a greater Aegean Mesolithic cultural realm at the very beginning of the Holocene. High resolution radiocarbon datasets will eventually render conventional terminologies obsolete, hopefully allowing us to transcend any linear and progressive conceptualization of the past.