Les restes humains moustériens de la Station Amont de la Quina - (Charente, France) : contexte archéologiqe et constitution de l'assemblage : étude morphologique et métrique des restes crânio-faciaux : apport à l'étude de la variation néandertalienne

The site of La Quina (Gardes-le-Pontaroux, Charente, France) has yielded a large series of human remains during three main excavations periods between 1905 and 1994. These remains, attributed to the OIS 4-3, are associated with Quina type, denticulate and of Acheulian tradition Mousterian industries. Many of these pieces have not been analysed since their discovery and some remain unpublished. This work re-examines the whole series, which includes an adult skeleton, the cranium of a child and 36 isolated specimens. An updated inventory of these remains and their distribution within the site are presented in relation to the latest archaeological data. A quantitative aanlysis of the assemblage is provided and discussed. New data allow us to consider the existence of an intentional burial. This work also reveals the use of a human cranial fragment as a retoucher. A detailed morphological and metrical study of the cranial and dental remains is completed and encompasses two skulls, 16 cranial fragments, 40 in situ and 16 isolated teeth. Comparative data include Neandertals, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic modern humans and recent humans. The results indicate that all the remains with diagnostic traits can be attribute to the Neandertal group and their place within this group is assessed. The comparison of anatomical parts represented by several individuals gives a new insight into the variation of the classic Neandertals. Osteological similarities between the temporal bones of three adults indicate a lesser biological distance between them compared to other Neandertals supporting a population-specific morphological pattern.