The Stone Age consists of three eras. The Palaeolithic era was the Old Stone Age. Then there was the New Stone Age, called the Neolithic era. In between the two, there was the Mesolithic era, which means the Middle Stone Age. ‘Meso’ in Greek means middle, or intermediate.
The people of the Mesolithic Era lived mainly by gathering food and hunting. They did not farm, use metal or build houses. The Mesolithic people lived in caves. They made sharp tools from flint, bone, wood, antler etc. They domesticated dogs from wild wolves, took fish from the waterways, and managed to thrive, despite harsh living conditions.
The famous Bhimbetka caves near Bhopal belong to the Mesolithic Age. You can see beautiful cave paintings here, done with natural red and white pigments. These paintings show wild animals, hunting scenes, rituals and scenes from the daily life of this era. Remains of the Mesolithic Age have also been found in Bagor, in Rajasthan.
Picture Credit : Google
