The Mesolithic period or Mesolithic age is the second stone age after the Palaeolithic age. The humans of the second Stone Age used special bladed stones, i.e. microliths, for making their weapons. The period varies slightly from the geographical area under concern. However, the approximate period of the second Stone Age ranges from 10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE. For example, the Mesolithic period in North-western Europe ranges from 8000 BCE to 2700 BCE, whereas in India, it ranges from 9,000 B.C. to 4,000 B.C. The people of the Mesolithic era lived on hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Moreover, they also learnt some basic agriculture practices over time, such as slash and burn practices. The Mesolithic era is often referred to as the transformational era as there were significant changes in humans’ feeding and living standards. Also, there was a great enhancement in art.

Changes from Old Stone Age to Mesolithic Age

The changes from Old Stone Age or the Palaeolithic age to the Mesolithic age are as follows:

Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

Mesolithic Age (Second Stone Age)

It is the first stone age marked with using simple stones and a hunter and gathering lifestyle

It is the second stone age with a significant change from the hunter lifestyle towards the little development in agriculture

The Timeline of the old stone age varies approximately from 2Million years ago to 10,000 BC

The Timeline of the second stone age varies approximately from 10,000 to 8,000 BC

The humans of this age were mostly nomadic (wandering from place to place to search for food)

The humans were sedentary and also nomadic, depending upon their requirements

The Palaeolithic paintings only involve cave paintings

The Mesolithic humans had significant advancement in the field of art such as pottery making

They do not have any permanent settlement

They have semi-permanent settlements

The tools of Palaeolithic humans were much simpler, made up of simple stones

The humans of Mesolithic used sharpened bones or wood studded with tiny chips of stone

Characteristics and Developments in Mesolithic Age

There are several developmental phases in the Mesolithic age or the character development of the Mesolithic age. Some of these special features of the second stone age are as follows:

  1. As already discussed, the Mesolithic age shows the characteristics of both pastoral and horticultural societies. Pastoral societies refer to the people who travel with some domesticated animals and rely on those domestic animals for food. On the other hand, the horticulture society refers to people who use simple tools for crop production.
  2. They started practising slash and burn practices.
  3. They started domesticating animals such as dogs.
  4. The Mesolithic people no longer lived in caves and made semi-permanent settlements in the form of huts. They kept moving at short intervals for the food search. They also started storing surplus food in containers. Moreover, their dependence on aquatic animals rather than mammals for food increases.
  5. Due to an increase in knowledge of the land, water and other resources for agriculture, the quarrels among them increase.
  6. In the Mesolithic period, humans also used bones, bows and arrows, harpoons and fish hooks as their weapons.
  7. They tend to develop advanced skills like pottery and painting. There are several paintings excavated from the Mesolithic period.
  8. The Mesolithic people were both nomadic and sedentary, as stated above, depending on their requirements and availability of resources.  
  9. The weather of this Mesolithic era was warmer than the Palaeolithic age.
  10. They tend to believe in life after death. Therefore they have special burial systems. They bury the dead bodies with their notable essentials and some fish stew. The excavations show the remnants of fish in the graves of Mesolithic peoples. 
  11. Several notable artefacts and paintings of the Mesolithic era have been excavated, clearly showing their interest in art. Some notable paintings include Cuevas de la Araña en Bicorp (showcasing the honey collection) and The Dancers of Cogul (nine women, painted red and some black, dancing around a male figure). The paintings of the Mesolithic area mostly depicted humans and animals. It depicts the hunting scenes of a human running behind an animal such as deer. Some paintings showcase agricultural practices, dancing and fighting scenes too. 

Conclusion

The Mesolithic period or the middle stone age, is a significant period ranging from 10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE. Humans began to use basic agricultural and domestication practices in this era. Instead of being nomadic (as in the Palaeolithic age), the humans of the Mesolithic era became sedentary, too, with semi-permanent settlements. They started living in huts. However, they do migrate in the absence of food. The excavations of goods and remnants of fish from the graves of Mesolithic people indicate that they believed in life after death. Due to this belief, they bury their ancestors with notable essentials.