What is the Mesolithic Period?

About Mesolithic Period

• Mesolithic, also called Middle Stone Age, is an ancient cultural stage which existed between the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) and the Neolithic (New Stone Age).
• Timeframe: This period is generally considered to have occurred between approximately 12,000-10,000 years ago.
• Some of the defining characteristics of the Mesolithic Age are as follows:
  • People transitioned from using large chipped stone tools to using smaller chipped stone tools (microliths).
• Microliths were probably stuck onto handles of bone or wood to make tools such as saws and sickles.
• At the same time, older varieties of tools continued to be in use.
  • People transitioned from hunting large herds animals in groups to a more hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
  • Towards the end of the Mesolithic Age, people began growing crops and practising animal husbandry, which is the controlled cultivation, management, and production of domestic animals.
  • It was during the Mesolithic Age that the dog was domesticated.
  • The permanent settlements in the Mesolithic Age varied from villages of huts to walled cities.
  • During the Mesolithic Age, the climate was warming after the last ice age, which occurred at the end of the Palaeolithic period. 
  • The art created in the Mesolithic Age is highly reflective of the change in climate that was happening at the time.
  • During the Mesolithic period, humans developed cave paintings, engravings, and ceramics to reflect their daily lives.
  • In certain areas of the world, a range of pottery was made during the Mesolithic Age.
• Mesolithic Sites in India: Bagor in Rajasthan, Sarai Nahar Rai in Allahabad, Jharkhand, Chhota Nagpur plateau. In Orissa Mayarbbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundugarh are major Mesolithic sites in India. In south India, Godavari bases are rich in microliths. 

Q1) What is the Paleolithic Period?

It was the period ranging from 2.6 million years ago to 10,000 years ago. The name Paleolithic was coined by the famous archeologist John Lubbock in the year 1865. It began with the first use of stone tools by hominins (human-like creatures) and ended with the onset of the Mesolithic Period around 11,650 years ago.

Source: Mesolithic era rock art discovered in T