Here in the village hall, we offer a glimpse into the Stone Age workshop. Stones, wood and earth, animal bones and hides, plants and fibres formed the basis for the production of tools, food and clothing. The pile-dwellers found all these raw materials near their settlements. As self-sufficient people, they met more than 90 per cent of their daily needs from these resources. In good years, they even produced a surplus for trade. Markets took place on the water or in halls such as this one. There, they exchanged their goods for items they could not produce themselves: elaborate jewellery and distinctive clothing, amber, flint, copper and very hard stones for tools that were subject to heavy wear, such as axes.

Local products left the settlement with the traders: smoked fish, crops, beautiful beads, furs and clothing such as hats and sandals. Or even leather and skins from large fish such as pike, perhaps for leggings or sheaths. Baskets, nets, rucksacks and boxes made from tree bark were practical aids for transport. Long lengths of fabric for clothing were produced on large looms – in all the colours of nature. Weapons for hunting and fishing were also traded. At certain times, we demonstrate how the pile-dwellers made all these tools using the simplest of means. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

House type:

Single-room Stone Age pile-dwelling (c. 3500 BC), post-and-beam construction.

Reconstructed:

1939, based on excavations at Riedschachen 1 in the Federsee moor, Aichbühl near Bad Schussenried and Sipplingen, 1923–1930.

Painting with earth pigments

Far from being grey and monotonous – the Stone Age was colourful! There were not only colourful clothes, but also paints. To make them, the pile-dwelling people ground red and white stones or yellow earth on a stone slab and mixed the fine powder with a little water, oil or fat to form a paste. This was perfect for decorating walls or painting colourful patterns on their faces and bodies.

Have you ever painted colourful stripes on your cheeks?