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Named after Gafsa in Tunisia, the Capsian culture is considered to be an important culture dating to a transitional period in north African prehistory

In this region, there may have been north African hunter gathers, European hunter gathers; and farmers from both the middle east and Europe combined

It marks a late mesolithic and neolithic culture transition
The culture’s influence can even be seen in the later development of the Berber cultures of north Africa. So they gave the culture has also been known as a period. The Capsian period.

It is divided into two horizons: The Capsien typique (TypicalCapsian); and the Capsien supérieur (Upper Capsian)
Sometimes, a third period, Capsian Neolithic (6,200–5,300 BP).

It was centered in the Maghreb (Arabic: ‘the west’), and lasted from about 8,000 to 2,700 BC. (1)(2)
Major sites were Medjez II, Dakhlat es-Saâdane, Aïn Naga, Khanguet El-Mouhaâd, Aïn Misteheyia, Kef Zoura D, and El Mekta.

Capsian industry was concentrated mainly in modern Tunisia and Algeria, with some lithic sites attested from southern Spain, to Sicily.

They were primarily hunter gatherers

During this area and period, the environment of the Maghreb was open savanna. Much like modern east Africa, with Mediterranean forests at higher altitudes (3)
It is where the initial phase, overlaps with the African humid period. (4)

Food
Capsian diet included a wide variety of animals, ranging from aurochs and hartebeest (antelope). Hares even snails.
During the neolithic era, there is evidence of a Capsian tradition. They ate ovicaprids (sheep and/or goats).
They probably imported and domesticated them. And, There is little evidence of plants eaten. (5)(6)

They used ostrich eggshells for containers and cups
As well as pottery from nearby, and the far east. And, basketry.

Types of people, language and religion
As modern homosapiens. Capsians could be classified into two: proto-mediterranean and Mechta-Afalou. Mostly on the basis of cranial morphology. They natufians could have provided some influences on the culture too. Giving the Capsian culture timescale, and widespread occurrence in the Sahara, from its north west coastal location. Historical linguists have associated the culture with some of the earliest Afroasiatic speaking families on the continent.

Not much is known about there religions. It is believed based on burials, and shells, beads, and ivory decorations. They did believe in an afterlife. A Ibero-Maurusian practice of extracting the central incisors continued sporadically, but became rarer.

Art
Decorative art is extensively found at Capsian sites. There is figurative and abstract rock art; and, ochre is found coloring, as well as on, tools and corpses. They made beads; and, used seashells on necklaces.

The Eburran industry (east African tool assemblage) which dates between 13,000 and 9,000 BC in East Africa. Was a main form of lithic technology. It was formerly known as the “Kenya Capsian”. Due to similarities in the stone blade shapes.

Capsian culture was a early known phase in North African prehistory. Check it out with some more neolithic architecture today!

Cite 1) Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2000-04-30). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology (https://books.google.com/books?id=XneTstDbcC0C&pg=PA93). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 93. ISBN 9780306461583.

2) Whitehouse, Ruth D. (24 February 2016). Macmillan Dictionary of Archaeology – Google Książki (https://books.google.com/booksid=TDJdDwAAQBAJ&q=typical+capsian+dated&pg=PA86). Macmillan Education UK. ISBN 9781349075898.

3) 1984 D. Lubell. Paleoenvironments and Epi Paleolithic economies in the Maghreb (ca. 20,000 to 5000 B.C.) (http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~dlubell/Lubell_1984.pdf). In, J.D. Clark & S.A.Brandt (eds.), From Hunters to Farmers: The Causes and Consequences of Food Production in Africa. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 41–56.

4) Jackes, Mary; Lubell, David (June 2008). “Early and Middle Holocene Environments and Capsian Cultural Change: Evidence from the Télidjène Basin, Eastern Algeria”. African Archaeological Review. 25 (1–2): 41–55. doi:10.1007/s10437-008-9024-2 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10437-008-9024-2). S2CID 53678760 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:53678760).

5) 1984 D. Lubell, P. Sheppard & M. Jackes. Continuity in the Epipalaeolithic of northern Africa with an emphasis on the Maghreb (http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~dlubell/Advances.pdf). In, F. Wendorf & A. Close (eds.), Advances in World Archaeology, Vol. 3: 143–191. New York: Academic Press.

6) 2004 D. Lubell.Prehistoric edible land snails in the circum-Mediterranean: the archaeological evidence (http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~dlubell/Antibes.pdf). In, J-J. Brugal & J. Desse (eds.),
Petits Animaux et Sociétés Humaines. Du Complément Alimentaire Aux Ressources Utilitaires. XXIVe rencontres internationales d’archéologie et d’histoire d’Antibes, pp. 77–98. Antibes: Éditions APDCA.

Bibliography: Rahmani, Noura (2004-03-01). “Technological and Cultural Change Among the Last Hunter-Gatherers of the Maghreb: The Capsian (10,000–6000 B.P.)”. Journal of World Prehistory. 18 (1): 57–105. doi:10.1023/B:JOWO.0000038658.50738.eb (https://doi.org/10.1023%2FB%3AJOWO.0000038658.50738.eb). S2CID 162822759 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:162822759).

Mulazzani, Simone (2013). Le Capsien de Hergla (Tunisie): culture, environnement et économie (https://books.google.com/books?id=4i61eAzCoJwC) (in French). Africa MagnaVerlag. ISBN 978-3-937248-36-3.