Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to the cultural period of the Stone Age between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, marked by the appearance of microlithic tools and weapons and by changes in the nature of settlements.
  • noun The Mesolithic Period.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In prehistoric archæol., relating to the period intermediate between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods: a term employed in the classification of postglacial deposits which contain human relics, or of such relics themselves, and referring to the relative character and degree of workmanship displayed therein. Contrasted with Eolithic, Paleolithic, and Neolithic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or referring to the Middle Stone Age (also the Mesolithic period or the Mesolithic age), a prehistoric period that lasted between 10,000 and 3,000 BC.
  • noun Short for the Mesolithic period.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to a middle period of the Stone Age (following the paleolithic)
  • noun middle part of the Stone Age beginning about 15,000 years ago

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek μέσος (mesos, "middle") + λίθος (lithos, "stone")

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