Mesolithic

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to the prehistoric period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras characterized by the development of small stone tools and the beginning of settled life
2. Pertaining to the middle phase of the Stone Age marked by transitional advancements in tool-making and early forms of domestication
3. Describing the cultural stage in human prehistory where hunter-gatherer societies evolved techniques bridging ancient and agricultural times

Etymology: The Mesolithic is a period in prehistory, and its name is a plain technical coinage built from two Greek elements. "Meso-" comes from Ancient Greek "mesos," meaning "middle," which descends from an Indo-European root with the same sense. "-lithic" comes from Greek "lithos," meaning "stone," so the name literally means "middle stone (age)," placing the period between the Palaeolithic ("old stone") and the Neolithic ("new stone"). Because the name was assembled by archaeologists from classical roots, it describes a sequence of stone-tool periods rather than any ancient people's own label. The Greeks never used the term, and nobody in the period itself could have known they were living in a "middle" age. The name simply marks its place in the scheme of stone-based technologies.

Synonyms: middle stone age, epipaleolithic

Antonyms: paleolithic, neolithic