History of Bulgaria - Prehistory and Antiquity

Prehistory and Antiquity

The earliest human remains found in Bulgaria have been excavated in the Bacho Kiro cave. With an approximate age of 46,000 years, the remains consist of a pair of fragmented human jaws, but it is disputed whether these early humans were in fact Homo Sapiens or Neanderthals. The earliest dwellings in Bulgaria - the Stara Zagora Neolithic dwellings - date from 6,000 BC and are the oldest man-made structures yet discovered, second only to the Göbekli Tepe sanctuary in Asian Turkey. By the end of the neolithic, the Hamangia and Vinča culture developed on what is today Bulgaria, southern Romania and eastern Serbia. The earliest known town in Europe, Solnitsata, was located in present-day Bulgaria.

The eneolithic Varna culture (5000 BC) represents the first civilization with a sophisticated social hierarchy in Europe. The centerpiece of this culture is the Varna Necropolis, discovered in the early 1970s. It serves as a tool in understanding how the earliest European societies functioned, principally through well-preserved ritual burials, pottery, and golden jewelry. The golden rings, bracelets and ceremonial weapons discovered in one of the graves have been produced between 4,600 and 4200 BC, which makes them the oldest golden treasure yet discovered in the world. The Karanovo culture developed simultaneously with the one in Varna, and its earth layers serve as a stratigraphical gauge for the prehistory of the wider Balkans region.

Some of the earliest evidence of grape cultivation and livestock domestication is associated with the Bronze Age Ezero culture. The Magura Cave drawings date from the same era, although the exact years of their creation cannot be pin-pointed.