The Quina Mousterian is a variety of the Mousterian industry of the European

Middle Palaeolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleoli ...

, associated with

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

s and described by

François Bordes François Bordes (December 30, 1919 – April 30, 1981), also known by the pen name of Francis Carsac, was a French scientist, geologist, archaeologist, and science fiction writer. Biography He was a professor of prehistory and quaternary g ...

. The Quina strategy emphasizes the production of thick and wide flakes, often bearing cortex, with the characteristic feature being scaled stepped ('écailleuse scalariforme') retouch. The Quina Mousterian is usually dominated by transverse scrapers and typically has a Levallois index of less than 10%. Quina Mousterian lithic assemblages are usually found in caves. Very few Quina assemblages have been found outside cave and rock shelters. However, an important lithic assemblage, which was characterised by the presence of Quina tools and Levallois core reduction has recently been excavated at the Middle Palaeolithic valley settlements at

Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Veldwezelt-Hezerwater is a Palaeolithic archaeological site in the municipality of Lanaken in the province of Limburg, Belgium. See also *Archaeology *Stone Age References *Bringmans, P.M.M.A., Vermeersch, P.M., Gullentops, F., Groenendijk, A. ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The researchers who have excavated the Quina assemblage at the so-called "WFL site" at

prefer to call the WFL lithic assemblage: "Levallois core reduction with Quina tools." Quina Mousterian lithic assemblages in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

mostly date to the Early Weichselian (70,000-60,000BP), while Quina Mousterian lithic assemblages in

mostly date to the first half of the Middle Weichselian (60,000-45,000). A typical Quina Mousterian lithic assemblage is found in

Axlor Axlor is a prehistoric archeological site in the village of Dima in Biscay in the Autonomous Basque Community of Spain, dating from the Middle Paleolithic or Mousterian period. Excavation The shelter is the mouth of an old cave that has been ...

site, in the Basque Country (Spain), dated at the end of OIS3 (44,000 BP).

References

External links

* The Middle Palaeolithic sites a
Veldwezelt-Hezerwater
Stone Age Europe Middle Paleolithic Mousterian {{Europe-archaeology-stub