Fossils found in The Bacho Kiro cave, пещера „Бачо Киро“ (situated 5 km west of the town Dryanovo, only 300 m away from the Dryanovo Monastery. It is embedded in the canyons of the Andaka and Dryanovo River in Gabrovo region) show that Homo sapiens may have been living in Europe 46,000 years ago.
This indicates a longer overlap with Neanderthals and suggests major cultural links between the two.
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 46,790 to 42,810 years old.
They lay buried in a layer of rich, dark sediment, mingled with stone blades, bone leatherworking tools, ivory beads and pendants, and the butchered bones of red deer and bison. Most of the stone tools were long flint blades and points made with a technique called retouching.
The finds from a cave in Bacho Kiro, date back to the “period when Homo sapiens first arrived in Europe from the Middle East and lived alongside Neanderthals, which lasted between 5,000 and 10,000 years,” Nikolay Sirakov, professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ Archaeological Institute
Photo: Tsenka Tsanova
And Bacho Kiro cave suggests that our species had more time to interact with Neanderthals than we previously realized—a few thousand years more. We’re not yet sure what that might tell us about the nature of those interactions, but Bacho Kiro offers some important hints at the larger story.
Every new discovery adds to our vast, yet partial, understanding of the evolution of humans.
Homo-sapiens-bacho-kiro-caveThe site was first excavated by archaeologists in 1938 and then again in the 1970s. The new dig turned up animal bones, tools made of stone and bone, beads and pendants, and, of course, a handful of ancient human remains.
The Making of Bacho Kiro Cave System
Bacho Kiro Cave is a karst cave, formed from limestone and out of the remains of marine creatures such as coral when this part of Europe was under a primeval sea. It was created over a period of millions of years by erosion of an underground river.
it was named to honor of Bulgarian National Revival leader, teacher and revolutionary Bacho Kiro. The cave is a four-story labyrinth of galleries and corridors with a total length of 3,600 m, 700 m of which are maintained for public access and equipped with electrical lights since 1964.
Bacho Kiro complex is among the most important tourist sites in Bulgaria.
The tireless water drops, enriched with lime substance, gradually sculpted the beautiful cave forms within hundreds of thousands of years – stalactites, stalagmites, stalactones, giving them various bizarre forms. The impressive lights offer to visitors the chance to see the strange forms of nature with hundreds of forms and formations.
The cave can be visited every day in the week
Winter season /01 November – 30 march/ from 10.00 a.m. till 4.00 p.m.
Summer season /01 April – 30 October/ from 9.00 a.m. till 6.00 p.m
Prices:
Children – 1.00 lv ; Adult – 2.00 lv short route / 25 min
Children – 2.00 lv ; Adult – 4.00 lv long route / 60 min
For more information and reservations:
Tourist Association “Bacho Kiro”
5370 Dryanovo 7 Stefan Stambolov str.
Mail Box 14
tel: +359 676 72332;
mobile: +359 887 080993
e-mail: bacho_kiro2@abv.bg
www.tdbachokiro.com
