Probennahme auf einer Ausgrabung — To avoid contamination with modern DNA, Dr. Svea Mahlstedt and Don Kevin Sleebos, Masters student at the University of Groningen, are using overalls, gloves and masks despite the summer temperatures (Photo: Kimberly Wordtmann, NIhK).

A crime scene in Neuenwalde? New investigations into the Mesolithic in the Elbe-Weser triangle

What looks like a photo from a crime series shoot is actually showing an archaeological excavation of the NIhK in Neuenwalde, Lkr. Cuxhaven. There, the team led by Dr. Svea Mahlstedt currently investigates a Mesolithic site. The methods used there expand the classical archaeological spectrum to some extent. They include geochemical analyzes and DNA studies on sediments. Both methods are applied in cooperation with the institutes for Ecosystem Research and of Clinical Molecular Biology of Kiel University. They aim to prove and classify the activities of the Stone Age inhabitants in areas where there is little classical find material. These could, for example, be places that postglacial hunters and gatherers used to process certain plants, to build hunting equipment, or for short-term rest.