It was an extraordinary experience: in the summer of 2006, thirteen people embarked on a journey through time for the TV series “Stone Age – The Experiment – Life as it was 5,000 years ago” (SWR/ARD). At a pond in Upper Swabia, cut off from modern civilisation, they lived the life of Neolithic pile-dwelling people. They acquired the necessary knowledge to prepare for this primitive way of life at the Pile-Dwelling Museum in Unteruhldingen on Lake Constance.

Over 30 million viewers watched the programmes. For the participants, both adults and children, the experiment was a huge and unforgettable adventure – despite endless rain, which made gathering fruit and harvesting grain extremely difficult. And, of course, despite the lack of modern conveniences.

The scientifically monitored experiment provided researchers with answers to many questions: What was everyday life like in a pile-dwelling house? How did animal husbandry work under Stone Age conditions? What problems were there with food preservation?

The signs of wear and tear left by the time travellers on tools and household items were subsequently analysed and documented both on the film set and on all artefacts. The insights gained are of inestimable value for the reconstructions at the Pile-Dwelling Museum.

Once the experiment was over, the houses on the film set were dismantled and rebuilt here on Lake Constance, exactly as they were. Today, they host school projects on ‘Life in the Stone Age’. The documentary film can be viewed at specific times in the ‘Green Classroom’ at the Pfahlbaukino.

Life in the Stone Age

Would you like to travel back in time? A few years ago, six children and their parents travelled back to the Stone Age for an experiment. They lived in pile-dwelling houses just as people did 5,000 years ago – without heating, a fridge, television or the internet. Boring? Not at all. The children made their own toys, caught fish, cooked porridge and baked bread. There is a film about it in the Pfahlbaukino (in the Discovery Trail). In it, the children talk about their experiences. Would you like to watch it?