Svea Mahlstedt

The submerged site Timmendorf-Nordmole I (Poel 12) in Wismar Bay was investigated intensivly from 2000 to 2002. This brought to light unique find material of the last hunter and gatherers in the south western baltic region. Due to the excellent conditions of preservation many wooden objects were discovered. Other archaeological features in the area of the former shore and the shallow water zone in front of it give informations about the activities that took place on the site, settlement behavior and economy of the Ertebølle Culture.
Radiocarbon analysis date the site to the end phase of Ertebølle Culture between 4400 and 4100 cal BC. Archaeo-zoological examinations show the intensive use of marine resources like fish, especially cod and eel, seals and water birds. Less importend was hunting of land mammals like red deer, roe deer and wild boar. The investigation of wooden tools adverts also to fishing and hunting. Commonly found were wooden leister prongs of eel catchers, the most important fishing tool of Ertebølle Culture. Semi-finished products and very hard used leister prongs show the fabrication and use of these tools at the site. Fragments of a fish trap basket gave insight into the building technique of this fishing implement in the terminal Mesolithic. Additional fragments of dug out canoes and a paddle emphasise the importance of the marine living space. A well preserved bow made out of elm wood which can be classified as Holmegård type is one of this rare finds in Northern Germany and Southern Scandinavia. Also the flint tools especially the axes argue for an intensive wood processing at the site. People knew about different qualities of wood kinds and chose them for specific tools. Hasel was most important and presumably was cut regularly to produce long straight rods. The most common flint tools of Timmendorf-Nordmole I are flake axes what points out again the wood workshop character of the site. The flint tools were produced on the site as proofed by a huge number of flakes and unretouched blades. While the wooden tools show a strong relation to the the fishing activities the flint tools show a strong relation to the woodwork. It is also important to mention that the kind of every day flint forms like scrapers, borers and burins which are known from other synchron sites in a huge number are only represented by a few pieces. Most probably the related activities were not of much importance on the site.
The most impressive and extraordinary find fromTimmendorf-Nordmole I is a transverse shafted and distal retouched blade with wooden haft and crisscross formed decorative binding.While the form of the concave retouched blade is very typical for Ertebølle times never before a shaft was found. This tool is most suitable for skinning and sectioning of hunted animals especially fish.
The bone finds of Timmendorf-Nordmole I argue for a seasonal fishing and hunting site that was used during the winter season. The archaeological finds can be clearly distinguished from other assemblies in the area and are characteristic for the youngest phase of Ertebølle Culture. Together with other investigated sites of the region this place allows to build a chronological grouping of Ertebølle Culture for the southern Mecklenburgian Bay region.

The 26th Annual Meeting of the German Mesolithic Workgroup took place in Wuppertal from 10-12 March 2017 and was organised and hosted by Annabell Zander (University of York) and Birgit Gehlen (CRC 806, University of Cologne). In sum, more than 70 academics, students and amateur archaeologists from 8 different countries attended this conference. The international programme consisted of 24 talks and 10 poster presentations which were held in English and German. The presentations ranged from international to regional themes concerning the Final Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Early Neolithic.

Key words – Mesolithic; Final Palaeolithic; Early Neolithic; Westphalia

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