The Quina flaking system is a relatively new Middle Palaeolithic lithic technocomplex recognized and studied until now only in Southwestern France. It has been argued that this technology was...Show moreThe Quina flaking system is a relatively new Middle Palaeolithic lithic technocomplex recognized and studied until now only in Southwestern France. It has been argued that this technology was developed by Neanderthal groups to cope with the decreasing global temperatures and the environmental changes of the last glaciation. The Quina system, until now, is largely unattested in North Europe, where the glacial climate was more pronounced. Why is a technology evolved for the survival in cold environments absent in regions particularly affected by the glaciation? The presence of this technology in the Northern fringes of the Neanderthals’ ecological niche might shed light on the reasons behind Neanderthals’ technological behaviour. It might further provide important clues for a better understanding of whether the variability in the Middle Palaeolithic archaeological record derives from cultural diversity or functional/technical necessities or other factors. This research identifies, through quantitative and qualitative analyses, and comparative studies of lithic materials, the technological traces of unretouched flakes from the site of Colmont-Ponderosa (South Limburg, the Netherlands). This study confirms that at some point during the last glaciation, the Neanderthal groups were users of the Quina technology. The presence of this technology in the North and at such a distance (around seven-hundred kilometers) from the closest certain Quina sites might be the result of techno-cultural convergence. But it might also indicate the point of origin of this technology, which was later dispersed to the Sout, when the environment became too harsh, or it might indicate a dispersal from the South to the North. To confirm this hypothesis a re-evaluation of other Northern assemblages is necessary: if the Quina technology is present at Colmont-Ponderosa, it could be present elsewhere, overlooked because of the relative novelty of the Quina technocomplex.Show less
