Explore the Mesolithic Age in India, focusing on cultural transitions, stone tool innovations, and technological advancements.

Mesolithic Age

The Late Stone Age or the Mesolithic Age intervened as a transitional phase between the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age, and is also called the Late Stone Age. In the case of India, it started about 8000 B.C. and continued up to about 4000 B.C.

Overview - Mesolithic Age

Characteristics:

• The Mesolithic Age in India started around 8000 B.C. and continued up to about 4000 B.C.
• The characteristic tools of the Late Stone Age are microliths.
• Late Stone Age sites are found in good numbers in Chotanagpur, central India, and also south of the river Krishna.
• Few finds of the Late Stone Age have been dated scientifically, but there is no doubt that these finds preceded the Neolithic Age.
• On the northern spurs of the Vindhyas in the Bélan Valley, all three phases of the Paleolithic followed by the Mesolithic and then by the Neolithic have been found in sequence.

Mesolithic Phases

Phases:

• The Mesolithic Age is divided into several phases based on archaeological evidence and changes in culture and technology.
• These phases are characterized by the evolution of tools, adaptation to environmental changes, and shifts in settlement patterns.
• Detailed studies of Mesolithic phases provide insights into the lifestyle, subsistence patterns, and social organization of ancient communities during this period.