Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 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

After a brief warming temperatures drop

In the next 24 hours, over most of the country cloud cover will remain significant with temporary breaks. In the morning, visibility will be reduced in some places. On Friday , the wind will be weak, mainly from the east. In the..

published on 2/13/25 6:55 PM

There is a chance that Bulgaria will adopt the euro on 1 January 2026, sources from Brussels said

If Bulgaria meets the eurozone criteria, there is nothing to stop it adopting the euro on 1 January 2026. This is what Brussels sources told BNR correspondent Angelina Piskova. They said that the decision should be taken by the EU Council. This is..

published on 2/13/25 6:02 PM

Some shoppers walk out of hypermarkets on boycott day

In line with the example set by Croatia, followed by Greece, Romania, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina , four organizations in Bulgaria declared January 13 a day for boycotting the large retail chains in protest of high..

published on 2/13/25 5:18 PM