1. of, relating to, or denoting the middle period of the Stone Age, between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, roughly 10,000 to 5,000 BCE.
Usage: archaeological and historical term; often capitalized when referring to the specific period

1. the Mesolithic period or the culture and artifacts of that era.
Usage: often capitalized; used in archaeology and prehistory

Examples

• Mesolithic tools show evidence of more refined hunting techniques than those of the Paleolithic.
• The Mesolithic period marked a transition toward settled communities and early agriculture.
• Archaeologists discovered mesolithic artifacts near the ancient riverbed.
• During the Mesolithic, humans began domesticating animals and cultivating plants.
• The mesolithic culture of northern Europe relied heavily on fishing and hunting.
• Scholars study the Mesolithic to understand how humans adapted after the last ice age.