The Mesolithic Age

In order to learn what the mesolithic age is in an effective manner, you have to go through this entire article. The mesolithic age, also known as the Middle Stone Age, was an ancient cultural period that flourished between the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) and the Neolithic (New Stone Age) (New Stone Age). It lasted from 9,000 B.C. to 4,000 B.C. in India. Hunting, fishing, and food-collecting were the mainstays of this era's lifestyle; later, they also tamed animals. 

Mesolithic material culture is marked by more invention and diversity than Paleolithic material culture. Microliths, which are very small stone tools that may be mounted on a shaft to make a fillet knife, were one of the new forms of shattered stone tools discovered. Another novelty found in some mesolithic age collections was polished stone. 

John Lubbock coined the words "Paleolithic" and "Neolithic" in his 1865 book Prehistoric Times. Hodder Westropp created the extra "Mesolithic" category as an alternative category in 1866.

Mesolithic is a phrase formed from two Greek words: "meso" and "lithic." Meso means middle in Greek, while lithic means stone. As a result, the mesolithic period is also known as the "Middle Stone Age." The Holocene era encompasses both the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. There was an increase in temperature throughout this time period, and the environment grew warmer, resulting in ice melting and changes in flora and fauna.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, mesolithic meaning, ‘relating to the middle part of the Stone Age” (the period when humans used tools and weapons made of stone)

Mesolithic people are thought to have developed art forms such as cave paintings and engravings, small sculptural items, and early megalithic buildings during the Upper Paleolithic Period.

On the Mediterranean coast of Spain, the most extensive collection of Mesolithic rock art has been discovered. In these paintings, human and animal characters appear in hunting scenes and early agricultural operations like honey gathering.

A Mesolithic pendant discovered in England looks very similar to current Danish pendants. It's unclear if this refers to intercultural interaction or long-distance travel.

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Tools in The Mesolithic Period

The tools used in these civilizations are a distinguishing trait. Microliths, little chipped stone tools, and retouched bladelets were frequently used to make mesolithic age tools. Palaeolithic stone tools were more primitive, but Neolithic stone tools were more polished and less jagged. Points that could be hafted on shafts to produce spears were included in Middle Stone Age toolkits. Darts, arrows, and other projectile weapons might ultimately be manufactured with smaller tips linked to smaller, sleeker shafts. Stone awls, which may have been used to saturate hides, and shovels, which could have been used to prepare animals, wood, and other resources, were also common mesolithic tools.

The major Mesolithic tools include the back blade, core, point, triangle, lunate, and trapeze. Some tools, such as the scraper, burin, and choppers, are still in use.

Art: Painting was a popular pastime among the people of the Mesolithic period. Birds, animals, and humans were represented in their paintings. This period's art depicts the shift to a warmer environment and adaptation to a more sedentary lifestyle, as well as population numbers and plant consumption — all signs of the transition to agriculture and, eventually, the Neolithic period. People have been moving around a lot since the Mesolithic period. As a result, it's impossible to identify a distinct sort of creative activity throughout the period, and art forms created during the Upper Paleolithic (the Paleolithic's last period) were most likely perpetuated. Cave paintings and engravings, tiny sculptural objects, and early buildings were among them.

Features of Mesolithic Age

• Initially, inhabitants of this era subsisted on hunting, fishing, and foraging for food, but as time passed, they also tamed animals and cultivated plants, opening the way for agriculture.

• The wild descendant of the dog was the first animal to be trained. The most frequently domesticated animals were sheep and goats.

• People of this era believed in life after death. Therefore they buried their loved ones with food and other valuables.

• The Mesolithic man began to dress in animal skin clothing.

• During the Mesolithic Age, the Ganga Plains were first colonized by humans.

• Mesolithic humans were art enthusiasts who created rock art. The subject matter of these paintings was primarily wild creatures, but they also portrayed hunting scenes, dancing, and food gathering. These rock drawings provide insight into the evolution of religious rituals as well as the gendered distribution of labour.

When was the Mesolithic Period?

The Mesolithic Age Time period

• The Mesolithic period in North/Western Europe spanned from 10,000 to 4,000 BC.

• It lasted throughout Central Europe from 10,000 to 5,500 BC.

• It lasted from 10,000 to 6,000 BC in East Asia.

• It lasted from 10,000 to 7,000 BC in Southeast Europe.

• It lasted from 10,000 to 8,000 BC in the Middle East and beyond.

• It lasted from approximately 9000 B.C. to 4000 B.C. in India.

The following is a list of sites of Mesolithic culture in India, along with their locations and features.

List of Sites of Mesolithic Culture in India, Along With Their Locations and Features

• The people who lived at the locations in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh were mostly hunters, gatherers, and fishermen. However, certain agricultural practices were also seen at these locations.

• According to the results, the Mesolithic residents of Bagor in Rajasthan and Langhnaj in Gujarat interacted with people from the Harappan and other Chalcolithic cultures and exchanged various items.

• Around 6,000 B.C., the Mesolithic humans began to embrace a sedentary lifestyle and began domesticating animals such as sheep and goats.

Around 10,000 BC, the temperature began to warm up once more. With the chilly weather, many of the large animals fled to the north. Mammoths, elk, woolly rhinos, and bison, for example, became extinct. The Netherlands gradually became covered with woods, which were rich in animals and vegetation. These shifts signaled the start of a new epoch: the Middle Stone Age. Archeon's prehistory began during this time period.

Rock Art from the Prehistoric Period

• People from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods lived in India's rock shelters.

• The rock paintings represent a wide range of animal-related topics and scenarios with both people and animals. Fish have also been represented in the rock drawings, in addition to animals and birds.

• The rock drawings depicted humans engaging in different activities such as dancing, running, hunting, playing games, and fighting. Deep red, green, white, and yellow are the primary hues employed in these rock paintings.

• The rhinoceros hunting scene from the Adamgarh rock-shelters shows that a huge group of individuals get together to hunt larger animals.

• The following are the most important rock-painting locations:

1. Madhya Pradesh's Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, and Lakha Juar

2. Kupagallu is a place in Karnataka.

3. Uttar Pradesh's Murhana Pahar

Important Facts about the Mesolithic Age

• It lasted from 9,000 BC to 4,000 BC in India. Between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, there was a transitional period.

• Initially, inhabitants of this era subsisted on fishing, hunting, and food-collecting, but they eventually began to domesticate animals.

• The most significant tools in this age were microliths.

• The painting was a popular pastime among the people of this era. Humans, birds, and animals were represented in the paintings. In Madhya Pradesh's Bhimbetka, a large number of painted rock shelters have been discovered.

• Tilwara, south of the Krishna River, the eastern and central portions of India, as well as southern UP have all been discovered with Mesolithic sites.

• Mesolithic sites in India include Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan.

• Thanks to abundant food resources provided by the marshlands generated by the warmer climate, Northern European cultures were able to thrive.

• The kind of stone toolkit utilized in the Mesolithic was microlithic technology, which consisted of composite devices made with Mode V chipped stone tools, whereas the paleolithic employed Modes I-IV.

• Mesolithic ceramics may be found in North-Eastern Europe, Siberia, and a few southern European and North African sites between c. 9,000 and 5,850 BP.

An Interesting Factoid

In 2015, an unexpected discovery was made near Stonehenge. Researchers discovered what might pass for an eco-house around 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from the iconic monument (in Mesolithic terms). Hunter-gatherers discovered a site where a big tree had fallen down some 6,000 years ago. They maintained the foundation as a wall and tiled the surface with flint, demonstrating amazing ingenuity. The hole created by the downed tree was filled with cobblestones. A wooden pole was set some distance away to support a roof. 

It was most likely composed of grass or skin. Surprisingly, the family had devised a clever method of keeping warm. Large stones were heated in a fireplace (positioned well away from the roof) and put near the beds to offer warmth. The wooden pillar was dated to 4336 – 4246 BC, which might modify Stonehenge's history. [8] Many people believe that the Neolithic builders of the monument arrived from the continent to discover an uninhabited environment. However, this house showed that they came upon a Mesolithic population in the area.