Alexander wrote

> So you state that the Zarzian and Kebaran cultures had both bows and
> microliths as the most advanced features of their way of life (which
> provided the widest spreading of numerous Nostratic branches) but
> later some of their descendants lost microliths and other denied
> bows with arrows, don't you? In other words, bows and/or microliths
> let the Nostratic people to win in the competition with other tribes
> (which had neither bows no microliths - Palaeolithic hunters?) and
> to populate a half of the world.

I tend to find bows and microliths part of a "cluster" of Mesolithic
features which spread out of Africa associated with Flannery's "Broad
Spectrum Revolution". After 20,000 BP this saw a predominant
hunting-gathering way of life with an increased utilization of
labour intensive small game, waterfowl, fish, wild cereals, etc. We
see the first appearance of some of the preadaptations to cultivation:
grinding tools, storage pits, and greater food security when faced
with microclimatic fluctuations. Coming out of Africa we find the
appearance of microliths, bow and arrow and grinding stones for seeds,
with the use of storage pits. In the Middle East (particularly
Zarzian culture), the dog was added to this assemblage, allowing the
rapid expansion which we see in the Nostratic. The key feature of
this change was adaptiveness to local environmental conditions. As
they moved northwards, canoes, nets, snow-shoes, and skis were added
to their technological repertoire.

> Transition to farming was just an episode, not very principle one,
> and occurred independently in different Nostratic groups, if I
> understand you correctly.

Yes

> If so, I expect you to demonstrate:
> 1- archaeological cultures which can theoretically correspond to ALL
> Nostratic families. All this cultures are to exist before the
> establishment of farming in Near East (let's say appr. 10000 BC) and
> to be well geographically isolated.

Alexander, this is a little unfair. Archaeologically speaking
agriculture only began in the Middle East roughly 8,500 BCE, and
tended to spread in an East-West direction before spreading
North-South (See Jarred Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel: a history of
the last 13,000 years" for an explanation as to why.)

Agriculture only arrived in Central Asia half way through the period
of the Keltiminar culture, which also pioneered earlier the Broad
Spectrum changes mentioned above.

In actual fact we do find some clear "chains" showing a phylogenic
tree of Mesolithic (pre-agricultural) cultures as follows

eg. Out of Africa
Halfian
(Egyptian Oranian)
24-17,000
||
\/
Natufian<=======Kebaran ========> Zarzian
10,500 18-10,500 12,4-8,700
-8,500 BCE BCE BCE ======>Kobystan &
|| \\ || || M'lefatian
|| \\ || || ||
\/ \\ \/ \/ ||
Harifian/\\ Belbasi Zawi Chemi \/
Prepottery\\ Culture Shanadar =====> Ali Tappah
Neolithic \\ (Anatolian) 8,7-8,500 10,5-9,000
A&B(farming)\\ 13-10,000 || ||
8,5-6,200 \\| || \\| \/ ||
|| --' \/ --' Jarmo \/
|| Beldibi==>Franchthi (farming) Jeitun
\/ Culture Cave 8,500 9-5,000
Amuq 10-8,500 (Greece) // \\
Pottery || 9,800-5,794 |// \\
X \/ || \\ '-- \\|
Munhata Hacilar || \\ Belt Cave --'
Culture (farming) || \\| (Caspian) Hissar
(Semitic) 8,500 \/ --' (farming) (Altai)
6,-5,600 Sesklo Danubian 6-4,000
|| (farming) Gorge Culture ||
|| 6,5-1,500 || ||
\/ \/ \/
Ghassulian Grebenki <========Murzak Koba Keltiminar
Culture Culture Culture (Cent Asia)
5,6-4,500 7-5,500 /(steppe- 5,5-3,500
// // forest zone) ||
// // 9,1-8,000 \\ ||
// |// \\ ||
|// '-- \\| ||
'-- Volga/Ob/Lena --' \/
Dneipr-Bug/ Mesolithic Altaic Languages
Dnesitr-Donetz Cultures ========>(hunter-herders)
(Pre PIE) (Pre Proto
|| Uralic/Yukaghir)
\/
(farming)
(PIE)

> 2 - any Nostratic linguistic group or subgroup whose members
> remained hunter-gatherers. If belonging of the Eskimo-Aleut family
> to the Nostratic superfamily were proved, this example would be a
> good answer to this question. Please try to find an example among
> the 6 "classical" Nostratic families.

Regarding Elamo-Dravidian and Sumerian, they split from the diagram
(above) between the Zarzian and the Zawi Chemi Shanidar phase, with
the movement of mesolithic technologies down the Zagros and into
southern Iran (Elamo Dravidian), and across Southern Iraq and the
Arabian Persian Gulf (Sumerian). Kartvellian seems to have developed
from the Kobystan culture, a Zarzian derivative found in the Caucasas.

This is about the best I can manage Alexander.

Regards

John