Quina technology from Southwest China indicates diverse late-Pleistocene human dynamics in East Asia

Neanderthal adaptation to Marine Isotope Stage 4 cold environments in Europe is reflected by subsistence behaviors and material culture, among which the Quina system of lithic production stands out being easily distinguishable from others. Quina industries are currently confined to European and western Asian countries. Hence, their discovery far outside Western Eurasia challenges the current scenario. The Quina technological system identified in Southwest China, dated to ~55 ka, is culturally in the European range, which challenges popular view that there is no “Middle Paleolithic” in this region and reveals a diversity of technology in the Chinese Middle Paleolithic. Our study further deepens the understanding of biocultural dynamics of Homo sapiens Denisovans, and possibly other hominins in the Late Pleistocene of East Asia.