Investigating cultural expressions of late Neanderthals in the Po-Adriatic basin of northern Italy.

Reconstructing Neanderthal lifeways remains a compelling focus of research, particularly in understanding how they responded to the changing environments and diverse landscapes of Pleistocene Eurasia. Northern Italy, marked by the vast Po-Adriatic alluvial plain and bounded by the Alpine and Apennine ranges, is a focus area for investigating these questions. This region contains both sheltered and open-air sites that document an uninterrupted human presence throughout the Last Glacial cycle. The techno-cultural diversity of late Neanderthals here is reflected in their stone knapping technologies and toolkits, as well as in potential variations in subsistence and settlement systems. Current evidence from major caves and open-air lithic assemblages indicates that shifts in stone tool technologies and raw material procurement strategies can often be traced alongside major environmental changes, though at times they appear to follow an independent trajectory. Levallois technology, particularly in its recurrent unidirectional and centripetal modalities, is generally considered the dominant tradition throughout much of the Middle Paleolithic in the region. Its flexible application, as seen in multi-layered sites, allowed for considerable adaptability. Technological similarities are also evident in toolkits, which consist largely of side, transverse, and converging scrapers, along with retouched points, and, more rarely, denticulates. A lithic production concept associated with the Quina sphere has been identified at least three sites. Discoid technology was recorded in several contexts, becoming more frequent during the MIS 3, thus contributing to a broader pattern of increased cultural variability towards the end of the Middle Paleolithic. These cultural expressions align with broader trends recognized across Western Europe, yet the region retains distinct characteristics. Isolated techno-typological elements, such as the production of leafpoints, for example, may signal connections with groups living east or north of the Alps.