Mesolithic
The word Mesolithic means middle stone, a Greek term combining mesos and lithos. This label marks the archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. John Lubbock introduced the terms Paleolithic and Neolithic in 1865. Hodder Westropp added the intermediate category called Mesolithic in 1866. His suggestion sparked immediate controversy among British scholars led by John Evans. They argued that ages blended together like rainbow colors without gaps. Gabriel de Mortillet led a European school claiming a distinct gap existed between earlier and later periods. Edouard Piette claimed to fill this gap with his naming of the Azilian Culture. Knut Stjerna offered an alternative name called Epipaleolithic for the final phase of the Paleolithic. Vere Gordon Childe affirmed the concept in his 1947 work The Dawn of Europe after collecting sufficient data. Today the terms remain in competition across different regions. Northern Europe uses Mesolithic almost exclusively for sites in Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, Ukraine, and Russia. Other areas prefer Epipaleolithic or show divergent usage conventions. Archaeologists in the New World use neither term except provisionally in the Arctic. The period spans roughly 15,000 to 5,000 BP in Europe. In the Middle East it covers roughly 20,000 to 10,000 BP. Some authors reserve Mesolithic for cultures succeeded by the Neolithic Revolution while using Epipaleolithic for hunter-gatherer groups not followed by agriculture.
Microlithic technology defined the Mesolithic toolkit as composite devices made from Mode V chipped stone tools. These small lithics replaced heavy-chipped equivalents typical of the Paleolithic era. Regions like Ireland, parts of Portugal, the Isle of Man, and the Tyrrhenian Islands used macrolithic technology instead. Microlithic technology disappeared during the Neolithic when polished stone axes became common. Pottery appeared in North-Eastern Europe, Siberia, southern European, and North African sites between 9,500 and 5,850 BP. Russian archaeologists describe such pottery-making cultures as Neolithic even though farming remained absent. This ceramic Mesolithic culture created distinctive point or knob base pots with flared rims. Methods differed from those used by Neolithic farmers despite similar forms. The earliest manifestation may lie around Lake Baikal in Siberia. It spread via the Yelshanka culture on the Volga 9,000 years ago. The Dnieper-Donets culture carried it to the Narva culture of the Eastern Baltic. Ertebølle culture in Denmark and Ellerbek of Northern Germany received the style westward along coastlines. Swifterbant culture of the Low Countries also adopted these techniques. A 2012 Science publication announced pottery found in Xianrendong cave China dated 20,000 to 19,000 years before present. Scorch marks suggest cooking use occurred long before agriculture emerged. Weaving techniques produced shoes and baskets decorated with dyes at Cueva de los Murciélagos Southern Spain. These fine constructions date back 9,500 years.
The Shigir Idol stands over five metres tall carved from a larch plank topped with a human head. Now fragmented, this wooden sculpture survives as rare evidence of what was likely common material for Mesolithic art. Geometric motifs cover its surface while a human face crowns the top. Thirty-three antler frontlets discovered at Star Carr were red deer skulls modified for human wear. Modified frontlets also appeared at Bedburg-Königshoven, Hohen Viecheln, Plau, and Berlin-Biesdorf. Rock art in the Iberian Mediterranean Basin spreads across cliff faces in open air settings. Subjects shifted from animals to mostly human figures depicted schematically yet energetically. Roca dos Moros contains 45 figures showing clothing, dancing, fighting, hunting, and food-gathering scenes. Small engraved pendants with suspension holes exist in amber from northern Europe. One shale pendant comes from Star Carr Britain dated 11,000 years old. The Elk's Head of Huittinen represents a rare soapstone animal carving from Finland. Ain Sakhri figurine from Palestine is a Natufian carving in calcite. Sites like Stonehenge show early construction phases with post holes aligned east-west before the 8th millennium BC. Warren Field in Scotland contained pits reflecting lunar phases thought to form a possible calendar.
The Balkan Mesolithic began around 15,000 years ago while Western Europe saw Azilian start about 14,000 years ago. Franco-Cantabrian regions of northern Spain and Southern France hosted these early developments. Other parts of Europe started by 11,500 years ago ending between 9,500 and 5,500 years ago depending on location. Northern European societies thrived on rich marshland food supplies created by warmer climates after the last glacial period. Maglemosian and Azilian cultures developed distinctive behaviors preserved in material records. Environmental effects delayed Neolithic arrival until some 5,500 BP in northern Europe. Fosna-Hensbacka culture existed in Norway alongside Komsa culture also found there. Sauveterrian culture spread across Western Europe while British Mesolithic sites included Howick house and Gough's Cave. Mount Sandel marked Irish Mesolithic settlements. Tardenoisian culture operated in Belgium and France. Neman culture covered Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland during late periods. Kongemose and Ertebølle cultures dominated Scandinavian landscapes before farming arrived. Capsian culture developed in North Africa while Iberomaurusian culture spanned Morocco from Late Upper Paleolithic to Early Mesolithic. Iron Gates culture appeared in Romania and Serbia near Franchthi and Theopetra caves. Jōmon cultures emerged in Japan while Jeulmun pottery period defined Korea. Bhimbetka rock shelters hosted South Asian Stone Age communities ranging 12,000, 4,000 BP.
Farming herding polished stone axes timber longhouses and pottery formed what archaeologists call the Neolithic package spreading into Europe. This package marginalized the Mesolithic way of life eventually causing its disappearance. Sedentism population size increases and plant food use served as transition evidence toward agriculture. Some Mesolithic communities rejected the Neolithic package due to ideological reluctance or different worldviews. A sample from Blätterhöhle in Hagen showed descendants maintained foraging lifestyles over 2,000 years after farming societies arrived. Such groups may be called Subneolithic. Long-term close contact facilitated adoption of farming among hunter-gatherer communities socially open to new members. Hunting and fishing continued into Medieval times in north-Eastern Europe regions less suited to agriculture. Scandinavia accepted no Mesolithic period preferring Older Stone Age moving directly into Younger Stone Age. In Central Asia the transition moved from Mesolithic to Chalcolithic during the fourth millennium BC instead of entering full Neolithic status. Chinese sites regarded as Mesolithic are better considered Early Neolithic according to Zhang Chi's 1999 documenta Praehistorica analysis. Indian tribes retained Mesolithic culture into modern periods making consistent term usage impossible.
Paleolithic and Neolithic terms function well in China but Mesolithic appeared later mostly after 1945 without necessity. Saharan rock paintings at Tassili n'Ajjer depict hunting people living near water-dependent species like hippopotamus now extinct there. These scenes show everyday life across central North Africa savanna regions. Kenya hosted Mesolithic activity between 8,200, 7,400 BP at Gamble's cave. Archaic or Meso-Indian periods follow Lithic stages equating somewhat to Mesolithic in Americas archaeology. South Asian Stone Age ranges 12,000, 4,000 BP overlapping early Neolithic at Mehrgarh. Langhnaj Bagor Bhimbetka Adamgarh Lekhahia represent dated Mesolithic sites covering c. 6,000, 2,000 B.C. The range combines data from Agrawal et al. 1978 and Sen 1999 publications. Certain interior Indian subcontinent tribes retained Mesolithic culture into the modern era preventing consistent terminology application. Radiocarbon dating of Shigir idol to 11,500 years old clarified Central Asia importance only after 2015 understanding emerged regarding its role for later European cultures.
Common questions
What does the word Mesolithic mean and who coined it?
The word Mesolithic means middle stone, a Greek term combining mesos and lithos. John Lubbock introduced the terms Paleolithic and Neolithic in 1865 while Hodder Westropp added the intermediate category called Mesolithic in 1866.
When did the Mesolithic period occur in Europe and the Middle East?
The period spans roughly 15,000 to 5,000 BP in Europe. In the Middle East it covers roughly 20,000 to 10,000 BP.
How did Microlithic technology differ from earlier Stone Age tools?
Microlithic technology defined the Mesolithic toolkit as composite devices made from Mode V chipped stone. These small lithics replaced heavy-chipped equivalents typical of the Paleolithic era.
Where was pottery first used during the Mesolithic period?
Pottery appeared in North-Eastern Europe, Siberia, southern European, and North African sites between 9,500 and 5,850 BP. The earliest manifestation may lie around Lake Baikal in Siberia.
What is the significance of the Shigir Idol found in Central Asia?
The Shigir Idol stands over five metres tall carved from a larch plank topped with a human head. Radiocarbon dating of Shigir idol to 11,500 years old clarified Central Asia importance only after 2015 understanding emerged regarding its role for later European cultures.