Middle Palaeolithic in the South of Albania: perspectives from the study of the lithic industry of Istraishta site

Neanderthal groups developed diverse mobility patterns and resource exploitation strategies across their territories. These variations are linked to different knapping methods and are likely to reflect adaptive strategies and responses at multiple ecological and cultural levels. Neanderthals associated with Discoid knapping are known to depend on context-specific, unplanned exploitation of lithic raw materials for daily subsistence and tend to be more mobile than those using different technologies. However, well-defined data are lacking for many geographical regions where this technocomplex has been identified. This study presents the open-air site of Istraishta, where the Mousterian industry is characterised by Discoid technology applied to the reduction of pebbles, thin plates, and flakes. Our multidisciplinary investigation includes an analysis on the lithic surface collection, an assessment of the quality and diversity of lithic raw materials exploited at the site, and an analysis of soil preserved in localised patches. These new findings contribute to our understanding of Neanderthal behavioural variability in the southern Balkans. We contextualise them at a macro-regional level, drawing comparisons with numerous sites in the Adriatic basin, primarily dated between MIS 5 and MIS 3. © (2024), (AIQUA - Associazione Italiana per lo Studio del Quaternario).