Homo sapiens and ornaments at Bacho Kiro
Homo sapiens y ornamentos de Bacho Kiro
- Date
- c. 46-44 ka · confidence high
- Place
- Bacho Kiro cave, Dryanovo, Gabrovo, Bulgaria
- Credited to
- Earliest Initial Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Human remains from the Initial Upper Palaeolithic layer, with tooth and bone pendants, dated to about 46-44 ka, among the oldest Homo sapiens in Europe. They show an early spread through eastern Europe and contact with Neanderthals.
Published in Nature in 2020 (Hublin et al.; Fewlass et al.). It is one of several sites (Ranis, Zlatý kůň) pointing to a sapiens presence in Europe around 45 ka; the older excavations of 1938-1975 were re-examined with new dates.
What it led to
- reconstruction of the spread of Homo sapiens across Europe before 40 ka
- genomic evidence of interbreeding with Neanderthals in early populations
- Initial Upper Palaeolithic blade technology as a cultural marker