Otherwise known as "Middle Stone Age", the Mesolithic period covered a brief span of around 2,000 years. While it served as an important bridge between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic ages, the art of this period was, well, sort of boring. From this distance, it's not nearly as fascinating as the discovery of (and innovations in) the art of the preceding era. And the art of the subsequent Neolithic era is exponentially diverse, besides being more well-preserved and offering us thousands of examples of itself, instead of a "handful".
The portable statuary of the Upper Paleolithic was largely absent during the Mesolithic era. This is likely a result of people settling down and no longer requiring art that could travel. Since the invention of the arrow had occurred, much of this period's "carving" time seems to have been spent knapping flint, obsidian and other minerals which lent themselves to sharp, pointy tips.
The most interesting Mesolithic art that we know of consists of rock paintings. Similar in nature to the Paleolithic cave paintings, these moved out of doors to vertical cliffs or "walls" of natural rock, often semi-protected by outcroppings or overhangs. Though these rock paintings have been found in locations ranging from the far north in Europe to southern Africa, as well as elsewhere around the globe, the largest concentration of them exists in eastern Spain's Levant.
The portable statuary of the Upper Paleolithic was largely absent during the Mesolithic era. This is likely a result of people settling down and no longer requiring art that could travel. Since the invention of the arrow had occurred, much of this period's "carving" time seems to have been spent knapping flint, obsidian and other minerals which lent themselves to sharp, pointy tips.
The most interesting Mesolithic art that we know of consists of rock paintings. Similar in nature to the Paleolithic cave paintings, these moved out of doors to vertical cliffs or "walls" of natural rock, often semi-protected by outcroppings or overhangs. Though these rock paintings have been found in locations ranging from the far north in Europe to southern Africa, as well as elsewhere around the globe, the largest concentration of them exists in eastern Spain's Levant.
