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Count Vega del Sella’s research marked the beginning of the long tradition of Mesolithic studies in Asturias (North Spain). Another pioneer, L. Sierra, explored a number of caves in Cantabria with Mesolithic shell-middens, but no specific research line was developed on this kind of deposit in the province. The early excavation at Santimamiñe Cave recorded the Basque Country’s first shell-midden, which was thought to belong to a different facies from the deposits in Asturias (Asturian shell-middens). Nevertheless, no line of research into the Mesolithic was developed in that area either. The first research on the Mesolithic in North Iberia did not take place in isolation from European Prehistoric studies at the time. In fact, the historiographical context was characterized by the existence of cordial relationships between the pioneers in this region and several foreign archaeologists. This feedback between Spanish and foreign archaeologists sometimes had a significant impact. In contrast, the relationships between Spanish authors were less intense. This situation and the recurring lack of information on the Mesolithic in Cantabria and the Basque Country did not encourage debate on the existence of different Mesolithic facies in northern Iberia. So for decades the Asturian and the eastern Mesolithic recorded in Cantabria and the Basque Country were regarded as independent objects of study. This indicates the relevance of the scientific relationships and other factors in the perception of the Mesolithic that took shape in the first decades of the twentieth century and which has been perpetuated until the present time.

The introduction and spread of the Neolithic “way of life” in Europe was a process that took several millennia, followed by different rhythms and displayed singularities in each geographic area. It was therefore a very complex phenomenon that, despite highly significant advances in research in recent decades, is yet to be fully understood. To deepen our understanding of the very early stages of the introduction of herding and agriculture throughout the Old Continent, the 1st Conference on the Early Neolithic of Europe was organised in Barcelona on 6–8 November 2019. The conference was a great success with more than 200 participants, creating a stimulating arena to discuss and debate, exclusively, the transition to the Neolithic in Europe. This special issue brings together 52 of the contributions presented in Barcelona, offering an interesting overview of the current state of research across Europe, from the Anatolia to the Algarve, highlighting the geographical, chronological and socioeconomic diversity of the transformation processes involved in the Neolithisation of Europe and providing useful starting points for future research.