Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Finds from Bulgaria shed new light on history of Homo sapiens

Excavations at Bacho Kiro Cave
Photo: © Tsenka Tsanova

Fragments of human bones found in Bacho Kiro Cave in central Bulgaria suggest that Homo sapiens appeared in Europe several millennia earlier than previously thought and shared the Old Continent with the Neanderthals for longer. 

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany have analyzed 4 bone fragments and a tooth discovered in the cave. Radiocarbon dating and DNA tests show that the fossils date back to 46,000 years ago. 
The earliest ancient fragments of human bones in Europe have been found in Romania. Scientists believe that Homo sapiens came from Africa about 47,000 years ago, and the Danube Valley was probably used as a route for their settlement.
The international research team is led by Jean-Jacques Hublin, Tsenka Tsanova and Shannon McPherron of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and Nikolay Sirakov and Svoboda Sirakova of the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia.


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Boyko Borissov calls on politicians to soften the tone

"Seeing the way all the political parties are behaving at the moment, we can talk about the next eighth elections", GERB leader Boyko Borisov told journalists. Six early parliamentary elections have been held in this country for three..

published on 8/15/24 11:31 AM

Priceless church relics found in private homes during special police operation

More than 500 church relics were seized during a specialized operation of the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime, conducted on the territory of the region of Gabrovo. According to experts, there are priceless finds among..

published on 8/15/24 10:16 AM

Three medals for the Bulgarian teams at the first International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence

The Bulgarian participants won three medals at the first International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence, which was held in Burgas. In the practical round of the Olympiad, the Bulgarian team won a gold and a bronze, while..

published on 8/15/24 9:59 AM