Abstract

The matter of causes and mechanisms behind the radical cultural modification, which occurred at the turn of the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene and was characterized by the Mesolithic communities settlement throughout the North European Plain, constitutes the most vividly discussed issue connected with research on hunter-gatherer societies of that area. Fast and profound transformations of natural environment, taking place in that period all over the Plain, are the essential element of this debate. The article presents the latest results of the investigations into the changes of natural environment. It also argues basic conceptions concerning the disappearance of the Late Palaeolithic groups and the settle¬ment of the Mesolithic communities in the north of Europe. In the authors' opinion, the process of cultural transformations that can be observed in the North European Plain between ca. 10000-9000 BC was an independent phenomenon lasting together with co-occurring environmental changes. Their synchronism was absolutely coincidental. Thus, the natural envi¬ronment transformations can be treated only as a kind of catalyst of limited (and diversified) influence but not as decisive and causative factor