Mesolithic

Mesolithic, ancient cultural period that existed between the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), with its chipped stone tools, and the Neolithic (New Stone Age), with its polished stone tools. Most often used to describe archaeological assemblages from the Eastern Hemisphere, the Mesolithic is broadly analogous to the Archaic culture of the Western Hemisphere. Increasingly, the term Epipaleolithic is used in place of Mesolithic to emphasize the continuities between this period and the Paleolithic, particularly in parts...