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Mesolithic

Mesolithic

9.9
The middle period of the Stone Age, beginning about 15,000 years ago
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛzəˈlɪθɪk/
translation icon : mesolítico
  • Prior to his work on isotope analysis, he focused on the Northern European Mesolithic, and Price still goes on summer digs in Denmark, where he has been working for many years on hunter-gatherer sites.

The Paleolithic, which means old rocks and the Neolithic which means new rocks and the Mesolithic which means medium rocks.

Examples

  • Ferguson invokes the oft-mentioned point that there is little generally accepted evidence for fighting before the Mesolithic.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The Mesolithic period was characterized by the development of fishing and hunting tools, which improved the lifestyle of early humans.

  • The Paleolithic, which means old rocks and the Neolithic which means new rocks and the Mesolithic which means medium rocks.

  • Based on flint fragments embedded in the clay, a Danish specialist dated the site to the late Mesolithic, around 8,500 years ago.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Archaeologists have discovered artifacts from the Mesolithic that provide insights into the lives of prehistoric hunter-gatherers.

  • During the Mesolithic, humans began to settle in semi-permanent communities, leading to changes in their social structures.

Synonyms

Mesolithic Age
vsMesolithic
9.9

The middle part of the Stone Age when people used small stone tools and began to live in one place

is the basic name for that period without extra dates or features
Epipaleolithic
vsMesolithic
  • Specialized
9.9

A period of the Stone Age about 15,000 years ago when people began to live more in one place

is positioned between the earlier and later Stone periods rather than focusing on transition

Compounds

The middle part of the Stone Age when people used small stone tools and began to live in one place

How Old

paleolithic
  • Specialized
5 8.4
Mesolithic
9.9
Neolithic
1 8.4
Bronze Age
9 3.9
Iron Age
1 4.9

Surface Forms

Mesolithic singular
Mesolithics plural

Morphology

Mesolithic = lithic (semi-transparent) = meso + lithic + meso

Formed from the Greek combining form 'meso-' (middle) added to 'lithic' (stone-related); the meaning 'middle Stone Age' is conceptually regular but uses technical combining forms that are not familiar to average B1 learners.

Etymology

Mesolithic comes from the parts meso- meaning 'middle' and lithos meaning 'stone', the same idea as the English word 'stone'. So Mesolithic is the 'middle stone' age, the period between the older Paleolithic and the later Neolithic.