Ancient Lake Duvensee is one the prime areas for Early Mesolithic research in northern Germany. In this contribution we will give an overview over the past research and current investigations that are conducted within the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 “Scales of Transformation. Human-Environmental Interaction in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies”. We will present results from archaeological and environmental research and show how the understanding of the area has changed over time.

With more than 20 sites from the Stone Age with a majority from the Early Mesolithic ancient Lake Duvensee presents itself as a pristine area for understanding Early Holocene human behaviour in the landscape. Due to good preservation conditions not only lithic artefacts were recovered but also several bark mats and different facilities for hazelnut roasting. This enabled us to develop high-resolution chronological and land use models.

We will show that a sole perspective on ancient Lake Duvensee is not sufficient for understanding the cultural landscapes Mesolithic people were living in. Rather the sites must be seen within a larger settlement system that was bridging beyond the lake. While only single and short occupation remains were left within the former lake area. Eventually, we plan to provide some perspectives for future studies at ancient Lake Duvensee and beyond and discuss a few aspects that already show great potential for future research.