Duvensee WP 10 – an Early Mesolithic Site at Ancient Lake Duvensee, Germany

Groß, Daniel; Henke, Ilka Sophia; Lübke, Harald; Meadows, John; Schmölcke, Ulrich

doi:10.1080/14732971.2021.1973778

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Comparing archeological results with the geophysical record, we were able to trace the shoreline and provide new insights into Mesolithic activity and refuse zones. Identifying this area allowed us to make very detailed investigations, offering the best insights currently possible into subsistence strategies and environment use at and around Duvensee WP10 [18]. The excavations were able to use a highly precise location of areas of interest and thus dig trenches at the most relevant spots on site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…300 m north of the extensively investigated central area) due to the distribution of surface finds; however, it was assumed that the site (Duvensee WP 10) was completely destroyed by land amelioration and agricultural activity. However, in 2017, a small test trench proved that undisturbed layers are preserved and that the site is partly intact [18].…”

Section: Geo-archaeological Background and Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Archaeological excavations revealed a camp that was dated to the Preboreal/Boreal transition (c. 8700 cal. BP) (Figure 1c,d) with different features, including a hazelnut roasting facility, a hearth, and a refuse layer with animal bones adjacent to the camp [18].…”

Section: Geo-archaeological Background and Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Finding Mesolithic Sites: A Multichannel Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) Investigation at the Ancient Lake Duvensee

et al. 2022

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The shift to the early Holocene in northern Europe is strongly associated with major environmental and climatic changes that influenced hunter-gatherers’ activities and occupation during the Mesolithic period. The ancient lake Duvensee (10,000–6500 cal. BCE) has been studied for almost a century, providing archaeological sites consisting of bark mats and hazelnut-roasting hearths situated on small sand banks deposited by the glacier. No method is yet available to locate these features before excavation. Therefore, a key method for understanding the living conditions of hunter-gatherer groups is to reconstruct the paleoenvironment with a focus on the identification of areas that could possibly host Mesolithic camps and well-preserved archaeological artefacts. We performed a 16-channel MALÅ Imaging Radar Array (MIRA) system survey aimed at understanding the landscape surrounding the find spot Duvensee WP10, located in a hitherto uninvestigated part of the bog. Using an integrated approach of high-resolution ground radar mapping and targeted excavations enabled us to derive a 3D spatio-temporal landscape reconstruction of the investigated sector, including paleo-bathymetry, stratigraphy, and shorelines around the Mesolithic camps. Additionally, we detected previously unknown islands as potential areas for yet unknown dwelling sites. We found that the growth rates of the islands were in the order of approximately 0.3 m2/yr to 0.7 m2/yr between the late Preboreal and the Subboreal stages. The ground-penetrating radar surveying performed excellently in all aspects of near-surface landscape reconstruction as well as in identifying potential dwellings; however, the direct identification of small-scale artefacts, such as fireplaces, was not successful because of their similarity to natural structures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geo-archaeological Background and Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Finding Mesolithic Sites: A Multichannel Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) Investigation at the Ancient Lake Duvensee

et al. 2022

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“…Rather ephemeral, perhaps single-day sites-WP13 and WP19 [35,47], had only a very limited spectrum of activities that were recognizable. Other sites, such as WP10 [48], were campsites where various domestic activities took place, hunting equipment was repaired, and game and fish were consumed. This contrasts with more elaborate stations such as WP11, where several occupation phases, overlapping bark mats, and roasting facilities for hazelnuts were excavated, indicating specialized, recurrent occupations of the same location [14].…”

Section: Use Of the Islands From Archeological Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

A Day at the Bog: Preliminary Interpretation of Prehistoric Human Occupation at Ancient Lake Duvensee (Germany) by GPR Structures

et al. 2023

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Understanding the landscape evolution and human-environmental interaction within it is one of the key tasks of early Holocene research. As mobile hunter–gatherers leave few traces of structural organization, understanding their habitats is relevant for comprehending these people. Rarely does the spatial distribution of artifacts correspond to the real pattern of past human activity, but rather shows the pattern of identified artifacts. Geophysical investigations try to fill this gap and have been applied increasingly in archaeological prospection delivering landscape reconstruction, which are verified and fine-tuned using corings and excavations. Despite promising 3D models, a tool to predict the location of undiscovered former human presence and the conditions which influenced people to move across the landscape is not well developed. The primary goal of this paper is to present a methodology for connecting spatial patterns of past human activity based on archaeological and geophysical data. We discuss different GPR (ground-penetrating radar) facies classified at the shoreline of the former Lake Duvensee and geomorphological variables, which leads to the possibility of understanding where and why people chose preferred areas to settle on former islands. We also demonstrate that Mesolithic hunter–gatherer groups preferred dry areas with access to open water for short-term campsites and flatter and more protected areas for specialized and repeatedly occupied campsites. The cardinal orientation of a campsite seems to be secondary to the local peat over-growing process and access to water.

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“…While older submerged sites are known from Scandinavia and the Eastern Baltic ( 12 – 14 ), older sites in Northern Germany are currently only known from the hinterland. Examples are the late glacial hunting spots at the Saaler Bodden ( 15 ) or the Ahrensburger Tunneltal ( 16 ), as well as the early Holocene camp sites at Hohen Viecheln at Lake Schwerin ( 17 , 18 ) or ancient Lake Duvensee ( 19 – 21 ). Located in a water depth of about 21 m, the newly discovered stonewall likely predates the Littorina transgression, representing possibly the first known submerged Paleolithic archeological site in the German section of the Baltic Sea.…”

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confidence: 99%

A submerged Stone Age hunting architecture from the Western Baltic Sea

Geersen,

Bradtmöller,

Schneider von Deimling

et al. 2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The Baltic Sea basins, some of which only submerged in the mid-Holocene, preserve Stone Age structures that did not survive on land. Yet, the discovery of these features is challenging and requires cross-disciplinary approaches between archeology and marine geosciences. Here, we combine shipborne and autonomousunderwater vehicle hydroacoustic data with up to a centimeter range resolution, sedimentological samples, and optical images to explore a Stone Age megastructure located in 21 m water depth in the Bay of Mecklenburg, Germany. The structure is made of 1,673 individual stones which are usually less than 1 m in height, placed side by side over a distance of 971 m in a way that argues against a natural origin by glacial transport or ice push ridges. Running adjacent to the sunken shoreline of a paleolake (or bog), whose youngest phase was dated to 9,143 ±36 ka B.P., the stonewall was likely used for hunting the Eurasian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) during the Younger Dryas or early Pre-Boreal. It was built by hunter–gatherer groups that roamed the region after the retreat of the Weichselian Ice Sheet. Comparable Stone Age megastructures have become known worldwide in recent times but are almost unknown in Europe. The site represents one of the oldest documented man-made hunting structures on Earth, and ranges among the largest known Stone Age structure in Europe. It will become important for understanding subsistence strategies, mobility patterns, and inspire discussions concerning the territorial development in the Western Baltic Sea region.

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Duvensee WP 10 – an Early Mesolithic Site at Ancient Lake Duvensee, Germany

Cited by 8 publications

References 12 publications

Finding Mesolithic Sites: A Multichannel Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) Investigation at the Ancient Lake Duvensee

Finding Mesolithic Sites: A Multichannel Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) Investigation at the Ancient Lake Duvensee

A Day at the Bog: Preliminary Interpretation of Prehistoric Human Occupation at Ancient Lake Duvensee (Germany) by GPR Structures

A submerged Stone Age hunting architecture from the Western Baltic Sea

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