Hundreds of school students gathered with scientists at Lake Mungo to conduct some important ancient detective work.

Key points: Around 250 school students learnt about the historical significance of Lake Mungo recently

Around 250 school students learnt about the historical significance of Lake Mungo recently The site in south-west NSW offers clues into 50,000 years of Aboriginal history

The site in south-west NSW offers clues into 50,000 years of Aboriginal history Scientists are working to analyse new remains that are uncovered by erosion

If Lake Mungo looks sparse and arid now, it would have seemed uninhabitable during the Last Glacial Maximum where ice sheets caused drought and desertification about 26,500 years ago.

So why is there so much archaeological evidence of human activity there during that time?

This is one of many questions scientists were trying to answer by travelling to the remote part of south-western New South Wales.

Recently they invited about 250 school students from NSW and Victoria for the 2019 Mungo Youth Project to join them in a cultural and archaeological step back in time.

"It's a dynamic landscape, which is a blessing and a curse because it constantly uncovers artefacts we haven't seen," University of Wollongong earth scientist Megan Ensor said.

"We need to make sure we get onto it quickly, but everything we do is onsite and by foot survey.

"People think archaeology is large-scale dig sites, but what we do [here] is all on the surface."

Along with a team of scientists, Ms Ensor is part of the Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage based at the University of Wollongong.

Their work might be to investigate Australia's ancient Indigenous heritage and environmental past, but they know it is a dynamite subject for Aboriginal school students.

University of Wollongong honours student Megan Ensor helped run workshops with students at Lake Mungo. ( Supplied: University of Wollongong )

'I felt a massive spiritual connection'

Ulladulla High School student River Langford was one of the Indigenous students who travelled to Lake Mungo recently.

He came with his school's didgeridoo band and performed every night while learning during the day.

He soon became overwhelmed by his connection to the environment.

"I felt a massive spiritual connection to the land up there, every step you took you could really feel it," he said.

"You just sit down and look at the stars and you could feel your culture wash over you — it's eye-opening to how old the culture is."

Ms Ensor said, while the weather could be harsh at Lake Mungo, the students were soon hooked on the stories they were hearing.

"We had two dust storms and it was hard to get them on board, but as soon as you tell them they're holding a mussel shell that was someone's meal 30,000 years ago they're amazed that this has been preserved," she said.

Scientists work to analyse the surface of Lake Mungo to find clues of what life was once like. ( Supplied: University of Wollongong )

Ulladulla High School teacher Hamish Richardson said the trip had a profound impact upon himself and his students.

"I came back saying 'this is what teaching is all about'," he said.

"Our kids should be doing this every second week because what our boys got out of it, that will impact them more strongly than 12 years of schooling.

"It's real-world learning, deep cultural learning, and it resonates because it's not theoretical."

Questions of ever-evolving Lake Mungo still baffling scientists

It is 45 years since Mungo Man — the world's oldest known example of a ritual burial — was found by ANU archaeologist Dr Jim Bowler.

Since then, the area has been an ongoing research ground as erosion slowly uncovers new windows into ancient times.

Students from NSW and Victoria spent three days at Lake Mungo, learning about the archaeological and historical significance of the site. ( Supplied: University of Wollongong )

"Mungo's really incredible because it has a record of the past 100,000 years of landscape and a record of human occupation," Ms Ensor said.

"It's unique in that we can tie together what's happening in the landscape and date artefacts and human traces by what we find in the landscape."

She said scientists believed Lake Mungo was a sacred site that drew people to it, or it could also have been a meeting place or trade route.

"We can tell they didn't use the lake as their main resource, which was previously thought," she said.

"You can look at the landscape and there are clues that show us what someone else's heritage is, so you can piece together a story.

"It's a very valuable lesson in cultural awareness as well."