Quina Procurement and Tool Production

Abstract

Quina Mousterian lithic variability is explicated as a consequence of interactions between the flexible Quina technology and the economic context in which it was employed. Quina technology was expressed somewhat differently in each assemblage as the needs of people in specific contexts led them to emphasize different possibilities of Quina flake and core forms. Variation in Quina tools was linked to blanks produced by the distinctive core reduction strategy as well as the intensity with which tools were maintained and transported. However, despite variation that exists in Quina assemblages, it is still clear that this expresses a common technological and economic theme. Quina strategies represent particular solutions to the problems of provisioning Neanderthal foragers in the Dordogne during the Middle Paleolithic. Transporting highly extendable packages of stone, usually in the form of thick flakes from which knapper's could remove large numbers of flakes for prolonged periods, either to maintain/create working edges and/or to produce the flakes themselves, formed the central strategy of Quina behavior. The nature of core reduction and flake retouching appears to have been efficient and appropriate for producing these packages, and the pattern and directionality of material transfers indicates the structure of economic needs rather than the intellectual capacity of Neanderthals. Nevertheless, the existence of a "Quina system" which integrated a variety of procurement and technological practices to create an economic structure that was suited to a specific environmental/economic context may indicate the presence of planning in Neanderthal foragers who developed and employed it.Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies Edited by Brian Adams and Brooke S. Blades

Shifts in Neandertal mobility, technology and subsistence strategies in western France

“…In this case, recycling is not a casual practice, but a principle that determines the entire reduction sequence. The low elaboration of the flaking process is balanced by a high tool curation rate (Bourguignon et al, 2006;Hiscock and Clarkson, 2008;Hiscock et al, 2009), resulting in end-products that are sometimes remarkably standardized. With a high resharpening or recycling potential, the products are well adapted to long-life uses.…”

Establishing statistical confidence in Cortex Ratios within and among lithic assemblages: a case study of the Middle Paleolithic of southwestern France

“…On the other hand, non-Levallois industries, such as the Quina and MTA technology, dominate layers with Cortex Ratios showing greater deviation from 1 at all three sites. This trend likely indicates a shift in technological strategies geared towards heightened mobility pattern perhaps in response to the increasingly heterogenous distribution of resources across the landscape (Delagnes and Rendu, 2011;Hiscock et al, 2009;Niven et al, 2012). However, departures in the Cortex Ratios between the three sites suggest variation in the nature and extent of artifact transport between places even within a single technological system or climatic setting.…”

“…The distinct cortex patterns during this period at Roc de Marsal and Pech de l'Az e IV also suggest that forms of artifact transport differ spatially between sites (see Soressi, 2002). The lithic technologies associated with these layers, including the Quina and MTA, have been characterized as having greater emphasis on the renewal and maintenance of artifact utility, especially through resharpening (Delagnes and Rendu, 2011;Hiscock et al, 2009;Turq, 1989;Niven et al, 2012). These observations point to the tendency for Neanderthals to carry out long distance movements during this period.…”

“…Specifically, the correlation between the occurrence of various Mousterian technological systems and fauna assemblage compositions in southwestern France has been interpreted to reflect changes in technological organization and mobility strategies as responses to environmental shifts (Delagnes and Rendu, 2011;Discamps et al, 2011;Faivre et al, 2014;Hiscock et al, 2009;Meignen et al, 2009). At Roc de Marsal and Pech de l'Az e IV, the Levallois rich layers at the lower half of the stratigraphic sequence exhibit less extensive artifact movement and therefore likely reflect lower degrees of mobility.…”

Terminal Pleistocene Lithic Technology and Use of Space in Central Chile

“…Quebrada Santa Julia and Taguatagua 1, the earliest sites, represent single, very brief occupations where there is evidence of tool production, local and exotic raw materials in various qualities (though generally high qualities), and where the diversity of tool classes suggests several ongoing activities indicative of ephemeral residential camp occupations. Big flake tools, particularly sidescrapers, were likely useful for the butchering of big and mid-sized game, as has been reported as one of the main uses for this tool class (Hiscock et al 2009;Rolland and Dibble 1990). This high raw material consuming task was appropriately accomplished with the use of short-lived, rapidly discarded tools manufactured with local rocks.…”