La Quina is a Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic site in Gardes-le-Pontaroux, Charente, France. Two Neanderthal skulls were found there, La Quina 5 and La Quina 18. It is the type site of the Quina Mousterian.

It was discovered in 1872, and was classified as a French monument historique in 1984.

The first deposit essentially delivered lithic industries from the Mousterian. This is the eponymous deposit of the so-called “Quina-type Mousterian” facies, characterized by the abundance of convex scrapers with scalariform scaly retouch (“Quina retouch”), on short and thick flakes. The Mousterian sequence ends with an industry attributed to the denticulate Mousterian, dated to 43,000 ± 3600 years BP by thermoluminescence.

The Mousterian levels have yielded many faunal remains (Great bovids, Horse, Reindeer), some of which show traces of anthropogenic action (fracturing, cutting streak, use as a touchoir) as noted and described by L. Henri-Martin.

The bowl or ladle of Fort Harrouard is identical to the pieces found at La Quina.
In his book Recherches sur l'évolution du Moustérien dans le gisement de la Quina, Henri-Martin devotes a chapter to the study of bone pieces presenting probable human work and undetermined use. These include iliac bones of bison and horses, bones shaped to use their cotyloid cavities. Their use as bowls or ladles, then misunderstood, was determined by identical but better preserved finds on the site of Fort Harrouard, studied by Louis Giraud.

The remains of 27 individuals with the characteristics of Homo neanderthalensis have also been discovered in this deposit. At least one of these individuals had benefited from a primary burial: it was unearthed in 1911 and it is an adult individual, probably a woman (La Quina 5). The skeleton of a Neanderthal child of about eight years has also been unearthed (La Quina 18).

Name	Age Min	Age Max
Ekain	12000	30600
Grotte des Fees
Grotte du Pape (Brassempouy)
Grotte du Renne
La Grande Roche (Quinçay)
La Quina
La Roche à Pierrot
Lezetxiki (Labeko Koba)
Morin
Roc de Combe

Cultures

Chatelperronian

Sites