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| Feature | Palaeolithic | Mesolithic |
|---|---|---|
| Climate | Cold; large areas covered by ice sheets | Warmer ; forests and grasslands expanded |
| Tools | Handaxes, cleavers, choppers, scrapers, borers, points, blades, microblades, burin | Microlithic (tiny stone) tools |
| Settlements | No permanent settlement; caves, rock shelters and open camps | Caves and rock shelters frequently occupied ; still not permanent |
| Art | Cave paintings, body pigments, beads, engraved bones and shells | Art flourished - hundreds of painted rock shelters at Bhimbetka |
| Subsistence | Hunting and gathering; large animals | Fishing as the mainstay; small game animals, edible wild grains |
| Population | — | First-ever population explosion in human history |
(Neolithic column comes in the next section.)
Worth remembering
This period saw the first-ever population explosion in human history - because a warmer earth suddenly offered far more food.
Still true today
Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh is a World Heritage Site you can still visit, with hundreds of painted rock shelters.
1. What are microliths?
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Tiny stone tools
2. What was the mainstay of the Mesolithic subsistence economy?
Show answer
Fishing
3. Why did forests and grasslands expand?
Show answer
The earth's climate became warmer and the ice sheets pulled back
When
What happened
Around 12,000 years ago
Earth's climate became warmer; forests and grasslands expanded; first population explosion in human history
