Mesolithic

The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, mesos 'middle' + λίθος, lithos 'stone') is the Old Worldarchaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymously, especially for outside Northern Europe, and for the corresponding period in the Levant and Caucasus. The Mesolithic has different time spans in different parts of Eurasia. It refers to the final period of hunter-gatherer cultures in Europe and the Middle East, between the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Neolithic Revolution. In Europe it spans roughly 15,000 to 5,000 BP; in the Middle East (the Epipalaeolithic Near East) roughly 20,000 to 10,000 BP. The term is less used of areas farther east, and not at all of those beyond Eurasia and North Africa.

The culture associated with the Mesolithic varies between areas, but it is associated with a transition from group hunting of large animals to a broader hunter-gatherer way of life, and the development of more sophisticated and typically smaller lithic tools and weapons. Agriculture is considered as the transition to the Neolithic, but some sites considered Mesolithic indicate some use of pottery and textiles. The more permanent settlements tend to be close to the sea or inland waters offering a good supply of food. Mesolithic societies are not seen as very complex, and burials are fairly simple, unlike the grandiose burial mounds of the Neolithic.