The Epipaleolithic is a term used for the "final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the Mesolithic".

The term is sometimes confused with Mesolithic, and the two are sometimes used as synonyms. Yet, when a distinction is made, Epipaleolithic is used for those cultures that were not much affected by the ending of the Ice Age (like the Natufian culture of Western Asia) and the term Mesolithic is reserved for Western Europe where the extinction of the Megafauna had a great impact of the paleolithic populations at the end of the Ice Age (like European post-glacial cultures: Azilian, Sauveterrian, Tardenoisian, Maglemosian, etc.).

The term is sometimes used in the opposite meaning, Alfonso Moure says in this respect:
In the language of Prehistorical Archaeology, the most extended trend is to use the term "Epipaleolithic" for the industrial complexes of the post-glacial hunter-gatherer groups. Inversely, those that are in transitional ways towards artificial production of food are inscribed in the "Mesolithic"
Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers made relatively advanced tools from small flint or obsidian blades, known as microliths that were hafted in wooden implements. They were generally nomadic.