What is the Mesolithic? Mesolithic - the basis for the development of all mankind

In order to understand what era this will be discussed here, let us briefly recall the history of the development of mankind.

In the Stone Age a primitive society arose that existed before our era for almost 36 thousand years. This period is covered by the following periods: the late Paleolithic (40-10 thousand years BC); The Mesolithic epoch - (10-5 thousand years BC); Neolithic (5-5 thousand years BC).

It should be noted that while some elements of culture arose even before the formation of primitive society. This is the germ of the tongue, religious representations, an instrument in the form of, for example, a manual chopper.

The development of culture begins at the same time with the completion of the formation of a reasonable person, called the term homo sapiens.

What is the Mesolithic?

Mesolith, as already noted above, was between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic. Its beginning is connected with the end of the European glacial period (geological epoch - Holocene). At this time the climate habitual for the present people was established, the plant and animal world appeared.

What is the Mesolithic? What common changes in people's lives are typical for this period?

The invention of the first guns (bow and arrow), the taming of some animals - the most important achievements of the Mesolithic. People began to make tools from flint, and for the protection of housing and hunting began to use dogs. The fishing nets that have survived since then, and wooden objects similar to rafts and canoes, indicate the beginning of the development of fishing. Harpoons in one and even in two rows with disposed teeth show the presence of people of those times hunting skills for different animals. The guns, as in the Paleolithic, were small tips and plates of geometric shapes, used as arrowheads or for compound guns.

During this period, the production of various wooden and wicker items is growing. For example, were found all kinds of bags, baskets of reeds and bast. The period of the Mesolithic is characterized by the settlement of people far to the north, with the development of the territories of the part of the coast of the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic and Scotland.

Culture and art

Noticeable progress in art is marked by the Mesolithic. The man began to draw. Many paintings were found depicting not only humans, but also animals. And there is a certain schematism that conveys precisely the movement, the meaning of events and the state of the soul. An important place among the drawings is occupied by scenes of struggle and battles, as well as hunting. Evidence of this is evident, for example, paintings on the cliffs of Valtorta in Spain.

Music and dancing arose in the Mesolithic. They were used in rituals and on holidays. Religious representations are being refined and complicated. For example, the cult of ancestors and belief in the other world are intensifying. The ritual of burial of the deceased person is performed with the burial of things necessary for the afterlife, more complex burial grounds are being built.

The Mesolithic Age in terms of progress in the development of social relations

There is progress in the development and improvement of social factors: the formation of speech, the emergence of rules and norms of conduct, the appearance of regulations and prohibitions, etc.

There are also forms of violence associated with violation of public norms, which led to various forms of punishment, including physical reprisals. There is an accumulation of more and more new knowledge about the surrounding world, skills that contribute to survival (knowledge of animal habits, various properties of plants, minerals) are being improved. There are first experiments with herbs, the first surgical operations (amputation of limbs, extraction of teeth, etc.).

Life: dwellings, clothes

What is the Mesolithic about the life of the tribes?

If in the Paleolithic the way of life was nomadic, then in the Mesolithic the territories of residence are intensively developed, that is, there is a so-called settled way of life.

This epoch brought transformations into the everyday life of the man of that time. As dwellings, not only light structures (deeper, oval shaped) but also rock plumb and caves were used.

So far, there is no evidence of the existence of weaving in the Mesolithic. Clothing Mesolithic European tribes differed depending on the seasons and the area of human habitation.

There are small indications that the weapons were also used for military purposes.

So, what is the Mesolithic?

Modern people should remember that in the culture of the primitive society the very foundations were laid for the further development of all mankind. And, it is important that people should not forget to whom they owe the fact that they are now.