This volume represents the first part of the conference proceedings “MesoLife. A Mesolithic perspective on Alpine and neighbouring territories” which took place at the Museo “Vittorino Cazzetta” of Selva di Cadore (Belluno, Italy) from 11th to 14th June 2014. The conference aimed at investigating the role played by the Alps in favouring or preventing contacts and cultural exchange during the first part of the Holocene. Thanks to contributions from neighbouring regions the picture could be enlarged to a European scale and gave the opportunity to compare and discuss adaptation dynamics to different environments and geographical contexts both from a synchronic and diachronic viewpoint.