Mesolithic

[ mez-uh-lith-ik, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh- ]

adjective

, Anthropology.

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a transitional period of the Stone Age intermediate between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic periods, characterized by adaptation to a hunting, collecting, and fishing economy based on the use of forest, lakeside, and seashore environments; Epipaleolithic.

Mesolithic

/ ˌmɛsəʊˈlɪθɪk /

noun

1. the period between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic, in Europe from about 12 000 to 3000 bc , characterized by the appearance of microliths

adjective

1. of or relating to the Mesolithic

Mesolithic

/ mĕz′ə-lĭth′ĭk /

1. The cultural period of the Stone Age that developed primarily in Europe between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, beginning around 10,000 years ago and lasting in various places as late as 3000 bce . The Mesolithic is marked by the appearance of small-bladed, often hafted stone tools and weapons and by the beginnings of settled communities. European Mesolithic cultures existed contemporaneously with the early Neolithic cultures of the Middle East and disappeared in any particular region with the introduction of agriculture.
2. Also called Middle Stone Age
3. Compare Neolithic

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mesolithic¹

First recorded in 1865–70; meso- + -lithic

Example Sentences

How can they know so much about the tools of the Mesolithic period and French kings and differential equations and the moons of Neptune?

From BBC

Corroborating this, genetic analysis found a close relationship between Vittrup Man and Mesolithic people from Norway and Sweden.

From Science Daily

The stone material also indicated a Mesolithic chronology.

From Science Daily

The age of specimens ranges from the Mesolithic and Neolithic through the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Viking period into the Middle Ages.

From Science Daily

In European archaeology, there is a longstanding perception that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers ate lots of seafood, but that when people started farming, they focused on food sourced from land, such as their livestock.

From Salon