Ancient Lake Duvensee has been one of the first sites where Mesolithic hazelnut roasting facilities have been excavated. Due to the large number of roasted and unroasted nut shells at different sites, the hazel had become a commonly known staple food of the Mesolithic. This even led to the coining of the term “nut Age” for this period. While the use of hazelnuts was also proven for several other Mesolithic sites, ancient Lake Duvensee still stands out with several short-term used camps and plenty specialised hearths for processing the fruit. As a consequence of the long excavations in Duvensee bog, the sites from the area have several times been contrasted with other sites where more remains of hunted animals were found. This went, more or less explicitly, hand in hand with interpretations of a site's function and its position in a settlement system.

In this presentation we want to critically assess the implications which build the basis for interpreting a site's function with selected cases from our current research projects. It will be shown that oftentimes the comparisons are hardly based on solid or common ground and thus obscure the interpretational potential. Furthermore, we will present current findings that extend our understanding of how ancient Lake Duvensee was integrated into a wider settlement system and which consequences arise from a more diversified perspective on the archaeological data. Additionally, indications for niche construction and resource use from the eastern German site Friesack will be discussed with respect to landscape modifying actions by Early Holocene hunter-gatherers. As will be shown, we find clear patterns in several hunted animals that indicate prey selection and active influence on reproduction patterns.