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139-529: The Nišava originates in western Bulgaria, in the Stara Planina mountains (east of Kom Peak ) near the village of Gintsi . Its source is close to the Serbian border. It enters Serbia after 67 kilometres (42 mi) of flow through Bulgaria without receiving any major tributaries. Because it flows through Gintsi, the upper course of the river is known as Ginska ( Cyrillic : Гинска ). It first flows to

278-429: A 238 cm (8 ft) yew spear was apparently lodged in an elephant. In Africa, 500,000-year-old points from Kathu Pan 1 , South Africa, may have been hafted onto spears. Judging by indirect evidence, a horse scapula from the 500,000-year-old Boxgrove shows a puncture wound consistent with a spear wound. Evidence of hafting (in both Europe and Africa) becomes much more common after 300,000 years. The SH humans had

417-597: A blood-like colour, though ochre can also have a functional medicinal application. Beyond these two species, ochre usage is recorded at Olduvai Gorge , Tanzania, where two red ochre lumps have been found; Ambrona where an ochre slab was trimmed down into a specific shape; and Terra Amata where 75 ochre pieces were heated to achieve a wide colour range from yellow to red-brown to red. These may exemplify early and isolated instances of colour preference and colour categorisation, and such practices may not have been normalised yet. In 2006, Eudald Carbonell and Marina Mosquera suggested

556-602: A female from Jinniushan , China; and 181.2 cm (5 ft 11 in) for a specimen from Kabwe , Zambia; around the same as modern humans . Like Neanderthals, they had wide chests and were robust overall. The Middle Pleistocene of Africa and Europe features the advent of Late Acheulian technology, diverging from that of earlier and contemporary H. erectus , and probably issuing from increasing intelligence. Fire likely became an integral part of daily life after 400,000 years ago, and this roughly coincides with more permanent and widespread occupation of Europe (above 45°N ), and

695-626: A female partial skeleton from Jinniushan is estimated to have been quite tall at roughly 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) in life, much taller than the SH females. A tibia from Kabwe is typically estimated to have been 181.2 cm (5 ft 11 in), among the tallest Middle Pleistocene specimens, but it is possible this individual was either unusually large or had a much longer tibia to femur ratio than expected. If these specimens are representative of their respective continents, they would suggest that above-medium to tall people were prevalent throughout

834-858: A foundation of big rocks and earth. Other such dwellings have been postulated to have existed during or following the Holstein Interglacial (which began 424,000 years ago) in Bilzingsleben, Germany; Terra Amata , France; and Fermanville and Saint-Germain-des-Vaux in Normandy . These were probably occupied during the winter, and, averaging only 3.5 m × 3 m (11.5 ft × 9.8 ft) in area, they were probably only used for sleeping in, while other activities (including firekeeping) seem to have been done outside. Less-permanent tent technology may have been present in Europe in

973-458: A lakeside. The spears vary from 2.9–4.7 cm (1.1–1.9 in) in diameter, and may have been 210–240 cm (7–8 ft) long, overall similar to present day competitive javelins. The spears were made of soft spruce wood, except for spear 4 which was (also soft) pine wood. This contrasts with the Clacton spearhead from Clacton-on-Sea , England, perhaps roughly 100,000 years older, which

1112-639: A locally endemic winged bellflower ( Campanula calyciliata ) and Pančić's frog grass ( Senecio pancicii ), which can be found only on the mountain. There are also communities of mountainous sphagnum bogs on the localities of Jabučko Ravnište, Babin Zub and Arbinje. Some 350 herb species are considered medicinal or aromatic . In 2022, several independent surveys from various universities and institutes were conducted, in order to list all of them, to enhance their protection, and to check possibilities for potential plantation production. Vast areas south and southeast from

1251-539: A long time, but by the 2020s they also experienced new boom. Planting of orchards also expanded. In some parts of the valley, lemon and banana trees are planted. The area used to be known for sirene production, too. Number of once popular breed of Svrljig sheep dwindled. Stara Planina The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkans in Southeastern Europe . The range

1390-427: A modern humanlike hyoid bone (which supports the tongue), and middle ear bones capable of finely distinguishing frequencies within the range of normal human speech. Judging by dental striations, they seem to have been predominantly right-handed, and handedness is related to the lateralisation of brain function , typically associated with language processing in modern humans. So, it is postulated that this population

1529-453: A much smaller scale. The 500 metres (1,600 ft) long gorge is a remnant of the former cave which eroded in time. Underground waters on the mountain reach the surface in the forms of common springs, well-springs ( vrelo ) and diffused springs ( pištevina ). There are some 500 springs with the flow of over 0.1 L/s (1.3 imp gal/min). The strongest spring is the intermittent Jelovičko vrelo , known for its fluctuations, characterized by

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1668-783: A rather young and recently formed part of the Alp-Himalayan chain which stretches across most of Eurasia . The Balkan Mountains can be divided into two parts—the main Balkan Chain and the Pre-Balkans (Fore-Balkan) to the north, which extend slightly onto the Danubian Plain . To the south, the mountains border the Sub-Balkan valleys , a row of 11 valleys running from the Bulgarian-Serbian border east to

1807-476: A sequential lineage, with each species evolving into the next ( chronospecies ). Though later Mayr changed his opinion on the australopithecines (recognizing Australopithecus ), his more conservative view of archaic human diversity became widely adopted in the subsequent decades. Though H. erectus is still maintained as a highly variable, widespread, and long-lasting species, it is still much debated whether or not sinking all Middle Pleistocene remains into it

1946-634: A subspecies of H. erectus . Because the classification is so disputed, the Middle Pleistocene is often called the "muddle in the middle". H. heidelbergensis is regarded as a chronospecies , evolving from an African form of H. erectus (sometimes called H. ergaster ). By convention, H. heidelbergensis is placed as the most recent common ancestor between modern humans ( H. sapiens or H. s. sapiens ) and Neanderthals ( H. neanderthalensis or H. s. neanderthalensis ). Many specimens assigned to H. heidelbergensis likely existed well after

2085-510: A subspecies of H. erectus s. l. (for example, the Arago material as " H. e. tautavelensis "). In 2018, Mirjana Roksandic and colleagues revised the hypodigm of H. heidelbergensis to include only the specimens with no Neanderthal-derived traits (namely Mauer, Mala Balanica , Ceprano, HaZore'a and Nadaouiyeh Aïn Askar ). There is no defined distinction between latest potential H. heidelbergensis material – specifically Steinheim and SH – and

2224-468: A taller trochlea of the ankle bone , making the ankle more flexible (specifically dorsiflexion and plantarflexion). On the left side of its face, an SH skull ( Skull 5 ) presents the oldest-known case of orbital cellulitis (eye infection which developed from an abscess in the mouth). This probably caused sepsis , killing the individual. A male SH pelvis (Pelvis 1), based on joint degeneration, may have lived for more than 45 years, making him one of

2363-491: A timespan of about a million years, and such technological stagnation has typically been ascribed to comparatively limited cognitive abilities which significantly reduced innovative capacity, such as a deficit in cognitive fluidity, working memory , or a social system compatible with apprenticeship. Nonetheless, the Acheulian does seem to subtly change over time, and is typically split up into Early Acheulian and Late Acheulian,

2502-468: A young brown bear was filmed on camera. There are 203 species of birds, of which 154 are nesting in the park, 10 are wintering, 30 are passing and 13 are wandering. Important species include golden eagle , Ural owl and hawk . As the park is the most important habitat in Serbia for long-legged buzzard , Eurasian woodcock and an endemic Balkan horned lark , an area of 440 km (170 sq mi)

2641-482: Is 17 kilometres (11 mi) long, and 350 to 400 metres (1,150 to 1,310 ft) deep. The gorge is a composite one, which means in consists of several gorges and widenings, like the Prosečka gorge, Ostrovička basin or Gradištanski canyon. The river is quite powerful in the gorge, which is used for two power stations ("Sićevo" and "Ostrovica") used for electricity production, irrigation and fishery. The plants are old, from

2780-558: Is a salmonid region, inhabited by the riverine brown trout . Another 25 species of fish live in the rivers and streams, so as the fire salamander and newts . Over 30 mammalian species are found in the park, including lesser mole-rat , hazel dormouse and the Tertiary relict, European snow vole . Brown bear became extinct in Serbian part, but evidence showing the presence of the bears were found in 2014. The bears have been photographed in 2015, before disappearing again until 2019 when

2919-468: Is also a large Ostrovica quarry in the gorge, where six villages are located, the largest one being Sićevo that gives the name to the whole gorge. The Oblik rise, above the Sićevo gorge, is a location where extremely rare plants Serbian ramonda and Natalie's ramonda can be found. Trouts can be find on the entire river's course, with their number varying over the years. Over 100 bird species live only in

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3058-570: Is also its southernmost locality worldwide. There have been successful efforts in the reintroduction of two vulture species that went extinct from the mountain range in the past several decades. In 2021 the first cinereous vulture in Bulgaria in nearly 30 years hatched in Kotel mountains in the eastern section of the mountain range, thus establishing the second breeding colony in the Balkans, after

3197-682: Is broad, the parietal bone can be expanded, and the squamous part of temporal bone is high and arched, which could all be related to increasing brain size. The sphenoid bone features a spine extending downwards, and the articular tubercle on the underside of the skull can jut out prominently as the surface behind the jaw hinge is otherwise quite flat. In 2004, Rightmire estimated the brain volumes of ten Middle Pleistocene humans variously attributable to H. heidelbergensis —from Kabwe, Bodo, Ndutu, Dali, Jinniushan, Petralona, Steinheim, Arago, and two from SH. This set gives an average volume of about 1,206 cc, ranging from 1,100 to 1,390 cc. He also averaged

3336-440: Is broader, taller and thicker (expanded anteroposteriorly) than those of Neanderthals or modern humans, and retains an anteriorly located acetabulocristal buttress (which supports the iliac crests during hip abduction), a well defined supraacetabular groove (between the hip socket and the ilium), and a thin and rectangular superior pubic ramus (as opposed to the thick, stout one in modern humans). The foot of all archaic humans has

3475-639: Is concluded that it belongs to a young adult person, though the sex can't be specified. Originally believed to be 200,000 to 300,000 years old, during the 2013 examination of the remains it was estimated that the lower jaw was not younger than 397,000 years, and probably older than 525,000 years, which makes it one of the oldest discovered remains of the Homo heidelbergensis in Europe. Later, only 50 metres (160 ft) further from this finding, remains of Neanderthals were discovered. Four teeth belonged to one adult and one child, and are estimated to be 300,000 years old. It

3614-548: Is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia . It then runs for about 560 kilometres (350 mi), first in a south-easterly direction along the border, then eastward across Bulgaria, forming a natural barrier between the northern and southern halves of the country, before finally reaching the Black Sea at Cape Emine . The mountains reach their highest point with Botev Peak at 2,376 metres (7,795 ft). In much of

3753-406: Is debated whether or not to constrain H. heidelbergensis to only Europe or to also include African and Asian specimens, and this is further confounded by the type specimen ( Mauer 1 ) being a jawbone, because jawbones feature few diagnostic traits and are generally missing among Middle Pleistocene specimens. Thus, it is debated if some of these specimens could be split off into their own species or

3892-807: Is evidence for the butchery of roe deer , horse and rhinoceros. The inhabitants of Terra Amata in France seem to have been mainly eating deer, but also elephants, boar, ibex, rhino and aurochs . African sites commonly yield bovine and horse bones. Though carcasses may have simply been scavenged, some Afro-European sites show specific targeting of a single species, which more likely indicates active hunting; for example: Olorgesailie , Kenya, which has yielded over 50 to 60 individual baboons ( Theropithecus oswaldi ); and Torralba and Ambrona in Spain which have an abundance of elephant bones (though also rhino and large hoofed mammals). The increase in meat subsistence could indicate

4031-577: Is in Serbia, the rest in Bulgaria. The Nišava is not navigable. It is not only the longest tributary of the Južna Morava, but also the largest one in terms of discharge (36 metres per second (120 ft/s)). It has many smaller tributaries, the most important being the Temštica from the right, and the Jerma (or Sukovska reka), Crvena reka, Koritnička reka and Kutinska reka from the left. In its Serbian part,

4170-585: Is indicated by the production of smaller, thinner, and more symmetrical hand axes (though thicker, less refined ones were still produced). At the 500,000-year-old Boxgrove site in England—an exceptionally well-preserved site with abundance of tool remains—thinning may have been produced by striking the hand axe near-perpendicularly with a soft hammer , possible with the invention of prepared platforms for tool making. The Boxgrove knappers also left behind large lithic flakes leftover from making hand axes, possibly with

4309-584: Is justifiable. Mayr's lumping of H. heidelbergensis was first opposed by American anthropologist Francis Clark Howell in 1960. In 1974, British physical anthropologist Chris Stringer pointed out similarities between the Kabwe 1 and the Greek Petralona skulls to the skulls of modern humans ( H. sapiens or H. s. sapiens ) and Neanderthals ( H. neanderthalensis or H. s. neanderthalensis ). So, Stringer assigned them to Homo sapiens sensu lato ("in

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4448-491: Is key for the protection of the eastern imperial eagle , saker falcon , Eurasian eagle-owl , Eurasian pygmy owl , Ural owl , boreal owl , white-backed woodpecker , semicollared flycatcher and the corn crake . The park's herpetofauna includes 15 reptile and nine amphibian species. It hosts vital populations of common European adder ( Vipera berus ), European toad , grass snake ( Natrix natrix ), legless lizard , tessellated water snake , viviparous lizard and

4587-636: Is known to have consumed the largest megafauna species present in the region, the straight-tusked elephant (which has been found at numerous sites with cut marks and/or stone tools indicating butchery) and rhinoceroses belonging to the genus Stephanorhinus . At the Schöningen spear horizon in Germany, there is extensive evidence for the butchery of horses. At the Boxgrove site in England, there

4726-436: Is most clearly demonstrated in the exceptionally well-preserved SH assemblage. Based on skull robustness, it was assumed Middle Pleistocene humans featured a high degree of sexual dimorphism , but the SH humans demonstrate a modern humanlike level. The SH humans and other Middle Pleistocene Homo have a more basal pelvis and femur (more similar to earlier Homo than Neanderthals). The overall broad and elliptical pelvis

4865-605: Is not as universally accepted. After the 2010 identification of the genetic code of some unique archaic human species in Siberia, termed " Denisovans " pending diagnostic fossil finds, it is postulated that the Asian remains could represent that same species. Thus, Middle Pleistocene Asian specimens, such as Dali Man or the Indian Narmada Man , remain enigmatic. The paleontology institute at Heidelberg University , where

5004-708: Is obfuscated by a long gap in the human fossil record near the end of the Early Pleistocene . In 2016, Antonio Profico and colleagues suggested that 875,000-year-old skull materials from the Gombore II site of the Melka Kunture Formation, Ethiopia, represent a transitional morph between H. ergaster and H. heidelbergensis , and thus postulated that H. heidelbergensis originated in Africa instead of Europe. According to genetic analysis,

5143-760: Is only found within the park's boundaries, Аlchemilla аchtarowii , Alchemilla jumrukczalica , Betonica bulgarica , Centaurea davidovii , as well as another 75 Balkan endemics. The vertebrate fauna of Central Balkan National Park consists of over 300 species. The number of mammal species is around 60, including animals of high conservation concern, such as the: Balkan chamois ( R. rupicapra balcanica ), Eurasian brown bear , Eurasian otter , Eurasian wolf , European ground squirrel , European snow vole , European wild boar , European wildcat , Lesser mole-rat , Marbled polecat , Pine marten , Red deer , Red fox , Western roe deer . The avifauna includes some 220 species, of which 123 are resident/nesting. The park

5282-667: Is part of a major natural route that from ancient times has connected Europe and Asia : the route follows the valleys of the Morava , Nišava and Maritsa and onwards towards Constantinople , present-day Istanbul . During the Roman period, the road was known as Via Militaris , and later as the Tsarigrad Road . Both the Belgrade - Sofia -Istanbul road and the railway follow this route. After being divided into districts in 1992,

5421-419: Is suggested there were multiple lineages (or species) in this region and time period, but French palaeoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin considers this an unjustified extrapolation as they may have simply been different but still interconnected populations of a single, highly variable species. In 2015, Marie Antoinette de Lumley suggested the less derived material can also be split off into their own species or

5560-635: Is supposed to represent the immediate ancestor of modern humans, but does not include the LCA of modern humans and Neanderthals. They suggested the confusing morphology of the Middle Pleistocene was caused by periodic H. bodoensis migration events into Europe following population collapses after glacial cycles, interbreeding with surviving indigenous populations. Their taxonomic recommendations were rejected by Stringer and others as they failed to explain how exactly their proposals would resolve anything, in addition to violating nomenclatural rules. H. heidelbergensis

5699-535: Is the 780,000-year-old Gesher Benot Ya'aqov , Israel. In Europe, evidence of constructed dwelling structures—classified as firm surface huts with solid foundations built in areas mostly sheltered from the weather—has been recorded since the Cromerian Interglacial , the earliest example a 700,000-year-old stone foundation from Přezletice , Czech Republic. This dwelling probably featured a vaulted roof made of thick branches or thin poles, supported by

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5838-496: Is thought to have descended from African H. erectus — sometimes classified as Homo ergaster — during the first early expansions of hominins out of Africa beginning roughly 2 million years ago. Those that dispersed across Europe and stayed in Africa evolved into H. heidelbergensis or speciated into H. heidelbergensis in Europe and " H. rhodesiensis " in Africa, and those that dispersed across East Asia evolved into H. erectus s. s. The exact derivation from an ancestor species

5977-458: Is typically considered the last common ancestor (LCA). This would make H. heidelbergensis a member of a chronospecies . It is much debated if the name H. heidelbergensis can be extended to Middle Pleistocene humans across the Old World, or if it is better to restrict it to just Europe. In the latter case, Middle Pleistocene African remains can be split off into " H. rhodesiensis ". In

6116-511: Is unclear if this is because Neanderthals were less capable of exploiting natural resources, or because they lived in harsher environments. A peak at 3½ years of age may be correlated with weaning age. In Neanderthals this peak was at 4 years, and many modern hunter gatherers also wean at about 4 years of age. Middle Pleistocene communities in general seem to have eaten big game at a higher frequency than predecessors, with meat becoming an essential dietary component. In Europe, Homo heidelbergensis

6255-526: Is unclear if this is part of a long blade-making tradition, or if blade technology was lost and reinvented several times by multiple different human species. Despite apparent pushes into colder climates, evidence of fire is scarce in the archaeological record until 400 to 300 thousand years ago. Though it is possible fire remnants simply degraded, long and overall undisturbed occupation sequences such as at Arago or Gran Dolina conspicuously lack convincing evidence of fire usage. This pattern could possibly indicate

6394-806: The Aegean Sea in the south. However, they are crossed by Bulgaria's longest river, the Iskar , which forms the Iskar Gorge . Rivers that take their source from the Balkan Mountains and flow northwards to the Danube include the Timok , Archar , Lom , Tsibritsa , Ogosta , Skat , Vit , Osam , Yantra , and Rusenski Lom . The mountains are also the source of the Kamchiya , which flows directly into

6533-588: The Belogradchik Rocks in the west. There are several important protected areas: Central Balkan National Park , Vrachanski Balkan , Bulgarka and Sinite Kamani , as well as a number of nature reserves . The Balkan Mountains are remarkable for their flora and fauna. Edelweiss grows there in the region of Kozyata stena . Some of the most striking landscapes are included in the Central Balkan National Park with steep cliffs,

6672-474: The Black Sea , separating the Balkan Mountains from a chain of other ranges known as Srednogorie (which includes Vitosha and Sredna Gora ). The Balkan Mountains consist of around 30 distinct peaks; within Bulgaria, the range can be divided into three sections: In their central and eastern sections, the mountains form a water divide between the rivers flowing to the Danube in the north and those flowing to

6811-653: The Haemus Mons . Scholars consider that the name Haemus (Αἷμος) is derived from a Thracian word *saimon , 'mountain ridge'. The name of the place where the range meets the Black Sea, Cape Emine , is derived from Aemon . A folk etymology holds that 'Haemus' derives from the Greek word "haima" ( αἵμα ) meaning 'blood', and is based on Greek mythology. During a fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon , Zeus injured Typhon with thunder; and Typhon's blood fell on

6950-598: The Levant after 700,000 years ago) made use of soft hammers as they mainly made use of small, thick flint nodules. The first prepared platforms in Africa come from the 450,000-year-old Fauresmith industry , transitional between the Early Stone Age ( Acheulian ) and the Middle Stone Age . With either method, knappers (tool makers) would have had to have produced some item indirectly related to creating

7089-811: The Nišava District (with Niš as administrative center) is named after the river. Nishava Cove in Rugged Island in the South Shetland Islands , Antarctica is named after Nišava. In 2008, cultivation of various aromatic and medicinal herbs began in the Serbian section of the Nišava watershed and the valleys of its tributaries. In time, lavender became the major crop, spreading on numerous hills and mountain slopes. Other herbs include Roman chamomile , dwarf everlast , lemon balm , hyssop and Damask rose . Modified Mediterranean micro-climate in

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7228-628: The Ottoman rule , many haiduks found refuge in the Balkan Mountains. Close to the highest summit, Botev Peak , is Kalofer , the birthplace of Hristo Botev , a Bulgarian poet and national hero who died in the western Balkan Mountains near Vratsa in 1876 in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire . Also close to Botev is Shipka Pass , the scene of the four battles in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 , which ended Turkish rule in

7367-643: The Paleozoic to the Cenozoic eras. Limestone terrain is known for the short losing streams and tufaceous waterfalls. There are canyons and gorges, like those of the Toplodolska reka and Rosomačka reka rivers. The Rosomača canyon ( Rosomački lonci or Slavinjsko grlo ), with its 60 metres (200 ft) tall, cascade limestone walls, is known for its resemblance of the Colorado's Grand Canyon, but on

7506-495: The Roman period and late mediaeval monastic complexes. Some of those older monuments are fragmentary and relocated from their original locations. There are numerous examples of the ethnic edifices characteristic for the architecture of the region in the late 19th and early 20th century (houses, barns, etc.) Serbian section of the mountain is seen as a location for dozens of micro hydros , mini power plants which caused problem with

7645-457: The Sima de los Huesos (SH) hominins were buried by people rather than being the victims of some catastrophic event such as a cave-in, because young children and infants are absent which would be unexpected if this were a single and complete family unit. The SH humans are conspicuously associated with only a single stone tool, a carefully crafted hand axe made of high-quality quartzite (rarely used in

7784-444: The common frog . Due to the park's high altitude, the ichthyofauna consists of six fish species, with brown trout being the dominant one. Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park is situated in the western section of the mountain range and spans an area of 301.29 km . Its territory includes some of the most extensive karst areas in Bulgaria with over 600 caves, such as Ledenika , the gorge Vratsata whose 400 m vertical cliffs are

7923-415: The golden eagle , long-legged buzzard , peregrine falcon , Eurasian eagle-owl, Alpine chough , Alpine swift , Eurasian crag martin , red-rumped swallow , wallcreeper , etc. There are 15 reptile and 11 amphibian species; of them important populations exist of the meadow lizard , European copper skink , Balkan crested newt , as well as the only habitat in Bulgaria of the northern crested newt , which

8062-464: The type specimen of a new species, Homo heidelbergensis . He split this off as a new species primarily because of the mandible's archaicness—in particular its enormous size—and it was the then-oldest human jaw in the European fossil record at 640,000 years old. The mandible is well preserved, missing only the left premolars , part of the first left molar , the tip of the left coronoid process (at

8201-430: The 1940s, in a number of localities along the Balkan Mountains. First group of trees was protected in 1966, followed by the creation of 7 special nature reserves and 3 natural monuments in the 1980s. Nature park Stara Planina was established in 1997 and since 2009 is in its present borders, covering an area of 1,143.22 km (441.40 sq mi). The protected area was expanded in 2020. The sediments extend from

8340-483: The Balkan Mountains at the following passes (listed from west to east): The Balkan Mountains have had a significant and special place in the history of Bulgaria since its founding in 681. It was a natural fortress of the Bulgarian Empire for centuries and formed an effective barrier to Moesia where most of the medieval capitals were located. The Balkan mountains were the site of numerous battles between

8479-604: The Balkans), as well as Borov Kamak , Babsko Praskalo , Etropole Waterfall , Karlovsko Praskalo , and Skaklya, among others. The area of the Stara Planina has always been sparsely populated and inaccessible because of the rugged and forested terrain, but also as a location of the Serbian-Bulgarian border. As armies relinquished the borders, giving control to the border police, civilians were allowed to explore

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8618-465: The Balkans. Significant areas of the Balkan mountains are under protection by Bulgarian law, including one national park — Central Balkan National Park ; three nature parks — Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park , Bulgarka Nature Park and Sinite Kamani Nature Park, over 20 nature reserves, as well as numerous natural landmarks. Central Balkan National Park is among the largest and most valuable of

8757-547: The Biosphere Programme and for the world list of geoparks , while over tens of thousands of citizens signed petitions against the micro hydros and numerous protests have been organized by the local population. This prompted similar protests in other parts of Serbia and the association "Defend the rivers of Stara Planina" was founded, which expanded its base of operations outside of the Stara Planina region. The activism resulted in various physical altercation between

8896-442: The Black Sea. Although not so abundant in mineral waters as other parts of Bulgaria, there are several spas such as Varshets , Shipkovo and Voneshta Voda. Developments in modern times have completely changed the geography of Serbia, especially when it comes to waterfalls. Still, there are a number of waterfalls to be seen, especially in the western and central parts of the range, such as Raysko Praskalo (the highest waterfall in

9035-734: The Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires including the Battle of the Rishki Pass (759), Battle of the Varbitsa Pass (811), the Battle of Tryavna (1190) and the Battle of Devina (1279). In the battle of the Varbitsa Pass, Khan Krum decisively defeated an enormous Byzantine army, killing Emperor Nikephoros I . For many centuries, the Byzantines feared these mountains, their armies reportedly retreating upon approaching them. During

9174-482: The LCA of modern humans and Neanderthal split into a modern human line, and a Neanderthal/Denisovan line, and the latter later split into Neanderthal and Denisovans. According to nuclear DNA analysis, the 430,000-year-old SH humans are more closely related to Neanderthals than Denisovans (and that the Neanderthal/Denisovan, and thus the modern human/Neanderthal split, had already occurred), suggesting

9313-474: The LCA rather than being the LCA itself (that is, H. heidelbergensis did not derive from H. antecessor ). Human dispersal beyond 45°N seems to have been quite limited during the Lower Palaeolithic , with evidence of short-lived dispersals northward beginning after a million years ago. Beginning 700,000 years ago, more permanent populations seem to have persisted across the line coinciding with

9452-473: The Lower Paleolithic. The appearance of repeated fire usage—earliest in Europe from Beeches Pit, England, and Schöningen, Germany—roughly coincides with hafting technology (attaching stone points to spears) best exemplified by the Schöningen spears . These nine wooden spears and spear fragments—in addition to a lance, and a double-pointed stick—date to 300,000 years ago and were preserved along

9591-590: The Mauer mandible are missing in the SH humans. In palaeoanthropology, the Middle Pleistocene is often termed the "muddle in the middle" because the species-level classification of archaic human remains from this time period has been heavily debated. The ancestors of modern humans ( Homo sapiens or H. s. sapiens ) and Neanderthals ( H. neanderthalensis or H. s. neanderthalensis ) diverged during this time period, and, by convention, H. heidelbergensis

9730-438: The Mauer mandible has been kept since 1908, changed the label from H. e. heidelbergensis to H. heidelbergensis in 2015. In 1976 at Sima de los Huesos (SH) in the Sierra de Atapuerca , Spain, Spanish paleontologists Emiliano Aguirre , José María Basabe and Trinidad Torres began to excavate archaic human remains. Their investigation of the site was prompted by the finding of several bear remains ( Ursus deningeri ) since

9869-479: The Middle Pleistocene Old World. If this is the case, then most all populations of any archaic human species would have generally averaged to 165–170 cm (5 ft 5 in – 5 ft 7 in) in height. Early modern humans were notably taller, with the Skhul and Qafzeh remains averaging 185.1 cm (6 ft 1 in) for males and 169.8 cm (5 ft 7 in) for females, an average of 177.5 cm (5 ft 10 in), possibly to increase

10008-606: The Mousterian culture, were dated from 102,000 BP +  5,000 to 39,000 BP  +  3,000, which makes Pešturina one of the latest surviving Neanderthal habitats. In April 2019 it was announced that the remains of the Neanderthal man have been discovered. It is the first discovery of Neanderthal remains in Serbia. All Paleolithic sites in the Central Balkans, including discoveries in the Nišava valley, have

10147-464: The Nišava has carved a composite valley with several depressions (Dimitrovgrad, Pirot (or Basara; Cyrillic : Басара ), Bela Palanka and Niš). However, the most prominent geological feature the river has formed is the Sićevo Gorge . There are numerous caves in the step-like limestone cliffs, the majority of which remains unexplored. The gorge is located between Bela Palanka and Niška Banja. The gorge

10286-646: The age of 10, suggesting it was not abandoned due its deformity as has been done in historical times, and received the same quality of care as any other child. Enamel hypoplasia on the teeth is used to determine bouts of nutritional stress. At a rate of 40% for the SH humans, this is significantly higher than exhibited in the earlier South African hominin Paranthropus robustus at Swartkrans (30.6%) or Sterkfontein (12.1%). Nonetheless, Neanderthals suffered even higher rates and more intense bouts of hypoplasia, but it

10425-486: The appearance of hafting technology to create spears. H. heidelbergensis may have been able to carry out coordinated hunting strategies, and consequently they seem to have had a higher dependence on meat. The first fossil, Mauer 1 (a jawbone), was discovered by a worker in Mauer , southeast of Heidelberg , Germany, in 1907. It was formally described the next year by German anthropologist Otto Schoetensack , who made it

10564-725: The archaic word balkan (балкан) was borrowed from Turkic and means "mountain". It may have ultimately derived from the Persian bālkāneh or bālākhāna , meaning "high, above, or proud house." The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary (Balkan Mountains) and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan . In Antiquity and the Middle Ages the mountains were known by their Thracian name:

10703-429: The area. As a result, higher and higher waterfalls have been discovered on the Serbian side of the Stara Planina in the years since, including Čungulj (1996) at 43 m (141 ft); Pilj (2002) at 64 m (210 ft); Kopren (2011) at 103.5 m (340 ft); and Kaluđerski Skokovi (2012) at 232 m (761 ft). The mountains are crossed by 20 passes and two gorges. There are paved roads crossing

10842-579: The back of the jaw), a developed planum triangulare (near the jaw hinge), and a mylohyoid line originating at the level of the third molar. Trends in body size through the Middle Pleistocene are obscured due to a general lack of limb bones and non-skull (post-cranial) remains. Based on the lengths of various long bones , the SH humans averaged roughly 169.5 cm (5 ft 7 in) for males and 157.7 cm (5 ft 2 in) for females, with maximums of respectively 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) and 160 cm (5 ft 3 in). The height of

10981-731: The brain volumes of 30 H. erectus / ergaster specimens, spanning nearly 1.5 million years from across East Asia and Africa, as 973 cc, and thus concluded a significant jump in brain size, though conceded brain size was extremely variable ranging from 727 to 1,231 cc depending on the time period, geographic region, and even between individuals within the same population (the last one probably due to notable sexual dimorphism with males much bigger than females). In comparison, for modern humans, brain size averages 1,270 cc for males and 1,130 cc for females; and for Neanderthals 1,600 cc for males and 1,300 cc for females. In 2009, palaeontologists Aurélien Mounier, François Marchal and Silvana Condemi published

11120-494: The broad sense"), as ancestral to modern humans and Neanderthals. In 1979, Stringer and Finnish anthropologist Björn Kurtén found that the Kabwe and Petralona skulls are associated with the Cromerian industry like the Mauer mandible, and thus postulated these three populations might be allied with each other. Though these fossils are poorly preserved and do not provide many comparable possible diagnostic traits (and likewise it

11259-654: The bubbling and foaming. Montane ecosystems are diverse and include several plant communities: forests, shrubs, meadows, pastures and peatlands . There are six different vegetation zone in the park. Oak , beech , spruce , subalpine zone of the shrub vegetation of common horsetail , blueberry , subalpine spruce and mugo pine . Other plants include shrub alder , steppe pedunculate oak , but also rare and endangered species like European pasqueflower , yellow pheasant's eye , Kosovo peony , common sundew , Heldreich's maple , martagon lily , pygmy iris and marsh orchid . In total, there are 1,190 plant species, including

11398-563: The central and eastern sections, the summit forms the watershed between the drainage basins of the Black Sea and the Aegean . A prominent gap in the mountains is formed by the predominantly narrow Iskar Gorge , a few miles north of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia . The karst relief determines the large number of caves, including Magura , featuring the most important and extended European post-Palaeolithic cave painting, Ledenika , Saeva dupka , Bacho Kiro , etc. The most notable rock formation are

11537-425: The cheek teeth, a horizontal retromolar space (a gap behind the molars), a gutter between the molars and the ramus (which juts up to connect with the skull), an overall long jaw, a deep fossa (a depression) for the masseter muscle (which closes the jaw), a small gonial angle (the angle between the body of the mandible and the ramus), an extensive planum alveolare (the distance from the frontmost tooth socket to

11676-423: The cinereous vultures were seen flying over the Serbian side, while the population decline of Egyptian vultures was slowed down. Neither griffon nor cinereous vultures are still nesting on Serbian side. The latter has not been nesting since the 1960s, when they were eradicated through the state operated campaign of poisoning wolves. Human heritage spans from the prehistoric remains, Classical antiquity including

11815-442: The desired product (hierarchical organisation), which could represent a major cognitive development. Experiments with modern humans have shown that platform preparation cannot be learned through purely observational learning, unlike earlier techniques, and could be indicative of well developed teaching methods as well as self-regulated learning . At Boxgrove, the knappers used not only stone but also bone and antler to make hammers, and

11954-507: The development of group hunting strategies in the Middle Pleistocene. For instance, at Torralba and Ambrona, the animals may have been run into swamplands before being killed, entailing encircling and driving by a large group of hunters in a coordinated and organised attack. Exploitation of aquatic environments is generally quite lacking, despite some sites being in close proximity to the ocean, lakes or rivers. Plants were probably also frequently consumed, including seasonally available ones, but

12093-399: The earliest Neanderthal specimens— Biache , France; Ehringsdorf , Germany; or Saccopastore , Italy. The use of the Mauer mandible, an isolated jawbone, as the type specimen for the species has been problematic as it does not present many diagnostic features, and in addition it is missing from several Middle Pleistocene specimens. Anthropologist William Straus said on this topic that, "While

12232-640: The early 20th century by amateur cavers (which consequently destroyed some of the human remains in that section). By 1990, about 600 human remains were reported, and by 2004 the number had increased to roughly 4,000. These represent at least 28 individuals, of which possibly only one is a child, and the rest teenagers and young adults. The fossil assemblage is exceptionally complete, with whole corpses buried rapidly, and all bodily elements represented. In 1997, Spanish palaeoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga assigned these to H. heidelbergensis , but in 2014, he retracted this, stating that Neanderthal-like features present in

12371-469: The energy-efficiency of long-distance travel with longer legs. A conspicuously massive proximal (upper half) femur was recovered from Berg Aukas Mine, Namibia, about 20 km (12 mi) east of Grootfontein . It was originally estimated to have been from a male as much as 93 kg (205 lb) in life, but its exorbitant size is now proposed to be the consequence of an extraordinarily vigorous early-life activity level while an otherwise ordinary person

12510-643: The environmentalists and local population. Even the Ministry for environmental protection halted some of the projects and litigated with the investors. They also announced the change of the Nature protection law, which will permanently forbid the construction of plants in protected areas. In order to prevent further degradation, the Nature Park Stara Planina was nominated for the UNESCO 's Man and

12649-459: The evolution of Homo heidelbergensis . In comparison to Early Pleistocene H. erectus / ergaster , Middle Pleistocene humans have a much more modern human-like face. The nasal opening is set completely vertically in the skull, and the anterior nasal sill can be crested or sometimes a prominent spine. The incisive canals (on the roof of the mouth ) open near the teeth, and are orientated like those of more recent human species. The frontal bone

12788-684: The extent of their exploitation is unclear as they do not fossilise as well as animal bones. At the Schöningen site in Germany, it is estimated that over 200 plant species in the vicinity were either edible raw or when cooked, though relatively few have actually been found at the site itself. Upper Palaeolithic modern humans are well known for having etched engravings seemingly with symbolic value. As of 2018, only 27 Middle and Lower Palaeolithic objects have been postulated to have symbolic etching, out of which some have been refuted as having been caused by natural or otherwise non-symbolic phenomena (such as

12927-414: The first differential diagnosis of H. heidelbergensis using the Mauer mandible, as well as material from Tighennif, Algeria; SH, Spain; Arago, France; and Montmaurin , France. They listed the diagnostic traits as: a reduced chin, a notch in the submental space (near the throat), parallel upper and lower boundaries of the mandible in side-view, several mental foramina (small holes for blood vessels) near

13066-568: The first half of the 20th century. "Sićevo" was built in 1909 as "Sveta Petka", and was declared a cultural monument. In some parts canyon like-structures (like inverse valley slopes at Gradištanski canyon) were formed by the river. The gorge itself carved through the Kunovica plateau between the southern slopes of the Mountains of Svrljig and the mountain of Suva Planina , and the surrounding areas are known for their high-quality vineyards. There

13205-470: The fossilisation or excavation processes). The Lower Palaeolithic ones are: a 400,000 to 350,000 years old bone from Bilzingsleben , Germany; three 380,000-year-old pebbles from Terra Amata; a 250,000-year-old pebble from Markkleeberg , Germany; 18 roughly 200,000-year-old pebbles from Lazaret (near Terra Amata); a roughly 200,000-year-old lithic from Grotte de l'Observatoire , Monaco and a 200- to 130-thousand-year-old pebble from Baume Bonne , France. In

13344-463: The fossils could be confidently associated with the Acheulian artefacts from the sites, and suggested that—as an alternative to archaic human activity—apparent size-selection could have been caused by either natural geological processes or 19th-century collectors favouring this specific form. Early modern humans and late Neanderthals (the latter especially after 60,000 years ago) made wide use of red ochre for presumably symbolic purposes as it produces

13483-414: The future, too. By the 2020s, Stara Planina became a popular filmmaking locality. With Serbian productions, the foreign movies were also filmed here, including the 2019 Indian action movie Uri: The Surgical Strike . Its director, Aditya Dhar , expressed surprise with "unremarkable similarity between Stara Planina and Kashmir ". The 2022 Australian Oscar entry You Won't Be Alone was also filmed on

13622-551: The gorge section, including golden eagle . North of the river, in the Sićevo gorge, excavations in the Mala Balanica cave began in 2005. Mousterian stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic were discovered until 2009. Numerous animal remains were discovered in the same layer, up to 30 centimetres (12 in) deep. A hominid mandible was discovered at the depth of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in 2007. It

13761-648: The highest waterfall in the Balkans Raysko Praskalo (124.5 m). The rugged and diverse relief determines the presence of numerous gorges , cliffs , water features and caves, including Raychova Dupka, the second-deepest cave discovered in Bulgaria and in the mountain range, reaching depth of -377 m. The flora of Central Balkan National Park is diverse and consists of 1689 species of vascular plants , 45 species of algae and 238 species of mosses . These include 23 Bulgarian endemic species, such as leafy primrose ( Primula frondosa ), which

13900-752: The highest in the Balkans, and numerous waterfalls, such as Skaklia (141 m drop but unlike Raysko Praskalo it is seasonal) and Borov Kamak (63 m drop). The flora includes 1082 species of vascular plants and 186 species of mosses. The endemism is lowers when compared to the Central Balkan National Park ;— 6 Bulgarian and another 36 Balkan endemic species. The vertebrate fauna encompasses 276 species. The recorded mammal species are 58 and include gray wolf, golden jackal , wildcat, marbled polecat, European polecat , European pine marten and 22 bat species. The birds are 181 species, including 124 nesting ones. Typical species are

14039-410: The highest waterfalls in the Balkans and lush vegetation. There are a number of important nature reserves such as Chuprene, Kozyata stena and others. Most of Europe 's large mammals inhabit the area including the brown bear , wolf , boar , chamois and deer . The mountains are the source of the name of the Balkans (sometimes considered as a distinct peninsula or region). In Bulgarian and Serbian

14178-471: The intention of recycling them into other tools later. Late Acheulian sites elsewhere pre-prepared lithic cores ("Large Flake Blanks", LFB) in a variety of ways before shaping them into tools, making prepared platforms unnecessary. LFB Acheulian spreads out of Africa into West and South Asia before a million years ago and is present in Southern Europe after 600,000 years ago, but northern Europe (and

14317-460: The invention of ignition technology or improved fire maintenance techniques at this time, and that fire was not an integral part of people's lives before then in Europe. In Africa, on the other hand, humans may have been able to frequently scavenge fire as early as 1.6 million years ago from natural wildfires, which occur much more often in Africa, thus possibly (more or less) regularly using fire. The oldest established continuous fire site beyond Africa

14456-513: The jaw hinge), and fragments of the mid-section as the jaw was found in two pieces and had to be glued together. It may have belonged to a young adult based on slight wearing on the 3rd molar. In 1921, the skull Kabwe 1 was discovered by Swiss miner Tom Zwiglaar in Kabwe , Zambia (at the time Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia ), and was assigned to a new species, " H. rhodesiensis ", by English palaeontologist Arthur Smith Woodward . These were two of

14595-465: The largest cities in Serbia, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) after which the Nišava empties into the Južna Morava . With the rapid growth of Niš in previous decades and its still fast growing suburbs, the banks of the Nišava are urbanized almost to its mouth. The river belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin . Its own drainage area covers 4,086 square kilometres (1,578 sq mi), of which about 73%

14734-522: The latter becoming especially popular after 600 to 500 thousand years ago. Late Acheulian technology never crossed over east of the Movius Line into East Asia, which is generally believed to be due to either some major deficit in cultural transmission (namely smaller population size in the East) or simply preservation bias as far fewer stone tool assemblages are found east of the line. The transition

14873-797: The latter view, " H. rhodesiensis " can either be seen as the direct ancestor of modern humans, or of " H. helmei " which evolved into modern humans. Regarding the Middle Pleistocene European remains, some are more firmly placed on the Neanderthal line (namely SH , Pontnewydd , Steinheim , and Swanscombe ), whereas others seem to have few uniquely Neanderthal features ( Tautavel in France, Ceprano in Italy, Vértesszőlős in Hungary, Bilzingsleben in Germany, Mala Balanica in Serbia, and Aroeira in Portugal). Because of this, it

15012-451: The local citizens on one, and contractors and their security guards on the other side, amidst the police interventions. In October 2018, Minister of Environmental Protection Goran Trivan , said that the current law allows for the micro hydros to be built in the protected areas. The government allowed the construction of 800 micro hydros, which has been described as "megalomaniacal" by the ecologists, as they would produce less than 1% of

15151-560: The many putative species of Middle Pleistocene Homo which were described throughout the first half of the 20th century. In the 1950s, Ernst Mayr had entered the field of anthropology, and, surveying a "bewildering diversity of names", decided to define only three species of Homo : " H. transvaalensis " (the australopithecines ), H. erectus (including the Mauer mandible, and various putative African and Asian taxa) and Homo sapiens (including anything younger than H. erectus , such as modern humans and Neanderthals ). Mayr defined them as

15290-585: The mid-19th century, French archaeologist Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes began excavation at St. Acheul, Amiens , France, (the area where the Acheulian was defined), and, in addition to hand axes, reported perforated sponge fossils ( Porosphaera globularis ) which he considered to have been decorative beads. This claim was completely ignored. In 1894, English archaeologist Worthington George Smith discovered 200 similar perforated fossils in Bedfordshire , England, and also speculated that their function

15429-402: The modern human/Neanderthal LCA had existed long before many European specimens typically assigned to H. heidelbergensis did, such as the Arago and Petralona materials. In 1997, Spanish archaeologist José María Bermúdez de Castro , Arsuaga, and colleagues described the roughly million-year-old H. antecessor from Gran Dolina , Sierra de Atapuerca, and suggested supplanting this species in

15568-412: The modern human/Neanderthal split. In the Middle Pleistocene, brain size averaged about 1,200 cubic centimetres (cc), comparable to modern humans. Height in the Middle Pleistocene can only be estimated based upon remains from three localities: Sima de los Huesos , Spain, 169.5 cm (5 ft 7 in) for males and 157.7 cm (5 ft 2 in) for females; 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) for

15707-439: The more closed-off end to fully open the hole. He also found wear facets which he speculated were begotten from clacking against other beads when they were strung together and worn as a necklace. In 2009, Solange Rigaud, Francisco d'Errico and colleagues noticed that the modified areas are lighter in colour than the unmodifed, suggesting they were inflicted much more recently such as during excavation. They were also unconvinced that

15846-417: The mountain are already transformed into the aromatic herbs plantations, especially the entire slopes of the nearby mountains being planted with lavender . In the 1980s, fossils of Thecodontosaurus were discovered on the mountain. It is one of the oldest recorded species of dinosaurs, and the remains are estimated to be some 250 million years old. Some 190 species of butterflies are recorded. The area

15985-427: The mountain. Homo heidelbergensis Homo heidelbergensis (also H. erectus heidelbergensis , H. sapiens heidelbergensis ) is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene . It was subsumed as a subspecies of H. erectus in 1950 as H. e. heidelbergensis , but towards the end of the century, it was more widely classified as its own species. It

16124-474: The mountains are also known as Стара планина Stara planina (pronounced in Bulgarian as [ˈstarɐ pɫɐniˈna] and in Serbian as [stâːraː planǐna] ), a term whose literal meaning is 'old mountain'. It is believed the name was brought to the region in the 7th century by Bulgars who applied it to the area, as a part of the First Bulgarian Empire . In Bulgarian ,

16263-543: The mountains, which were then named for this battle. Other names used to refer to the mountains in different time periods include Aemon , Haemimons , Hem , Emus , the Slavonic Matorni gori and the Turkish Kocabalkan . The Balkan Mountains are, technically, a chain of fold mountains —mountains formed by the compression and breaking of layers of rock. On a geological time scale , they are

16402-559: The name rhodesiensis honours English diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes who disenfranchised the black population in southern Africa. They classified all European H. heidelbergensis as H. neanderthalensis , and synonymised H. rhodesiensis with a new species they named " H. bodoensis " which includes all African specimens, and potentially some from the Levant and the Balkans which have no Neanderthal-derived traits (namely Ceprano, Mala Balanica, HaZore'a and Nadaouiyeh Aïn Askar). H. bodoensis

16541-547: The noticeable absence of the Aurignacian layers. That points to the theory that the expansion of the early modern humans into Europe occurred via the Danube corridor, which allowed for the small Neanderthal communities to survive beyond 40,000 BP in some isolated pockets. The Celts called it a Fairy river. The valley of the river is rich in Byzantine artefacts, and many monasteries, active, or in ruins. The Nišava valley

16680-539: The oldest examples of this demographic in the human fossil record. The frequency of 45-plus individuals gradually increases with time, but has overall remained quite low throughout the Palaeolithic. He similarly had the age-related maladies lumbar kyphosis (excessive curving of the lumbar vertebrae of the lower back), L5–S1 spondylolisthesis (misalignment of the last lumbar vertebra with the first sacral vertebra ), and Baastrup disease on L4 and 5 (enlargement of

16819-590: The one in north-eastern Greece. In recent years, several breeding pairs of griffon vulture have established themselves in the Vratsa Balkan to the west, as well as in the eastern sections of the Balkan Mountains. The eastern Balkan Mountains are among the priority areas in the reintroduction programme for the bearded vulture . Since the early XXI century there have been several records of the Eurasian lynx , which has been considered extincts in Bulgaria since

16958-413: The place of H. heidelbergensis for the LCA between modern humans and Neanderthals, with H. heidelbergensis descending from it and being a strictly European species ancestral to only Neanderthals. They later recanted. In 2020, Dutch molecular palaeoanthropologist Frido Welker and colleagues analysed ancient proteins collected from an H. antecessor tooth found that it was a member of a sister lineage to

17097-564: The protected areas in Europe. Since 2017, its ancient beech forests have been included in the Primeval Beech Forests UNESCO World Heritage Site . It is the third largest protected territory in Bulgaria, spanning an area of 716.69 km with total length of 85 km from the west to the east and an average width of 10 km. Within its territory are located the highest summit of the mountain range, Botev Peak (2376 m), as well as

17236-536: The region), and so Carbonell and Mosquera postulated this was purposefully and symbolically placed with the bodies as some kind of grave good. Supposed evidence of symbolic graves would not surface for another 300,000 years. The Lower Palaeolithic (Early Stone Age) comprises the Oldowan which was replaced by the Acheulian , which is characterised by the production of mostly symmetrical hand axes . The Acheulian has

17375-448: The skull is the creation of God, the jaw is the work of the devil." If the Mauer mandible is actually a member of a different species than the Kabwe skull and most other Afro-European Middle Pleistocene archaic humans, then " H. rhodesiensis " would take priority as the name of the LCA. In 2021, Canadian anthropologist Mirjana Roksandic and colleagues recommended the complete dissolution of H. heidelbergensis and " H. rhodesiensis ", as

17514-507: The south, then sharply turns west into the Godech Kettle, passing through Razboishte , after which it forms a gorge. Coming out of the gorge, it reaches Kalotina , a major border crossing on the Bulgarian-Serbian border (Kalotina-Gradina), and continues west into Serbia. Flowing generally to the west for the remaining 151 kilometres (94 mi), it passes near Dimitrovgrad , Pirot , Bela Palanka , Niška Banja and Niš , one of

17653-466: The spinous processes). These would have produced lower back pain, significantly limiting movement, and may be evidence of group care. An adolescent SH skull (Cranium 14) was diagnosed with lambdoid single suture craniosynostosis (immature closing of the left lambdoid suture , leading to skull deformities as development continued). This is a rare condition, occurring in less than 6 out of every 200,000 individuals in modern humans. The individual died around

17792-558: The spread of hand axe technology across Europe, possibly associated with the dispersal of H. heidelbergensis and behavioural shifts to cope with the cold climate. Such occupation becomes much more frequent after 500,000 years ago. In 2023, a genomics analysis of over 3,000 living individuals indicated that Homo sapiens' ancestral population was reduced to less than 1,300 individuals between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago. Prof Giorgio Manzi, an anthropologist at Sapienza University of Rome, suggested that this bottleneck could have triggered

17931-525: The strict sense", in this case, specimens from East Asia). Consequently, Afro-European remains from 600 to 300 thousand years ago—most notably from Kabwe, Petralona, Bodo and Arago —are often classified as H. heidelbergensis . In 2010, American physical anthropologist Jeffrey H. Schwartz and Tattersall suggested classifying all Middle Pleistocene European as well as Asian specimens—namely from Dali and Jinniushan in China—as H. heidelbergensis . This model

18070-469: The total electricity. Environmentalists also accused the government of destroying the plant and animal life using the pretext of renewable energy . In September 2019, Pirot city administration announced it is removing from the spatial plan all 43 existing locations for the micro hydros on the protected area of Stara Planina. There are 15 locations remaining in the unprotected sector of the mountain, but city officials announced abolishing of these locations in

18209-594: The use of such a wide range of raw materials could speak to advanced planning capabilities as stoneworking requires a much different skillset to work and gather materials for than boneworking. The Kapthurin Formation , Kenya, has yielded the oldest evidence of blade and bladelet technology, dating to 545 to 509 thousand years ago. This technology is rare even in the Middle Palaeolithic, and is typically associated with Upper Palaeolithic modern humans. It

18348-528: The valley, spreading from Greece and North Macedonia through the Niš and Leskovac basins in the South Morava valley, suits the herbs, so as the ph-neutral limestone terrain and altitude from 450 to 550 metres (1,480 to 1,800 ft). Numerous eco-plantations and oil distilleries were built. By 2020, the region became known as Serbian Provence . The region was famous for its vineyards, which were neglected for

18487-629: Was beads, though he made no reference to Boucher de Perthes' find, possibly because he was unaware of it. In 2005, Robert Bednarik reexamined the material, and concluded that—because all the Bedfordshire P. globularis fossils are sub-spherical and range 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) in diameter, despite this species having a highly variable shape—they were deliberately chosen. They appear to have been bored through completely or almost completely by some parasitic creature (i. e., through natural processes), and were then percussed on what would have been

18626-423: Was declared a European Important Bird Area . The griffon vulture disappeared from the region in the late 1940s. In 2017 a program for their reintroduction began within the scope of a wider European program. Among other things, the feeders will be placed along the vultures' migratory route. By 2023, there were regular sightings of griffon vultures, and, thanks to the efforts of Bulgarian and Spanish ornithologists,

18765-580: Was difficult at the time to properly define a unique species), they argued that at least these Middle Pleistocene specimens should be allocated to H. (s.?) heidelbergensis or " H. (s.?) rhodesiensis " (depending on, respectively, the inclusion or exclusion of the Mauer mandible) to formally recognize their similarity. Further work most influentially by Stringer, palaeoanthropologist Ian Tattersall , and human evolutionary biologist Phillip Rightmire reported further differences between Middle Pleistocene Afro-European specimens and H. erectus sensu stricto ("in

18904-532: Was made of hard yew wood. The Schöningen spears may have had a range of up to 35 m (115 ft), though would have been more effective short range within about 5 m (16 ft), making them effective distance weapons either against prey or predators. Besides these two localities, the only other site which provides solid evidence of European spear technology is the 120,000-year-old Lehringen site, district of Verden , in Lower Saxony , Germany, where

19043-472: Was maturing. If so, the individual from the Berg Aukas Mine would probably have had proportions similar to Kabwe 1. The human body plan had evolved in H. ergaster , and characterises all later Homo species, but among the more derived members there are two distinct morphs: A narrow-chested and gracile build like modern humans, and a broader-chested and robust build like Neanderthals. It

19182-456: Was once assumed that the Neanderthal build was unique to Neanderthals based on the gracile H. ergaster partial skeleton "KNM WT-15000" (" Turkana Boy "), but the discovery of some Middle Pleistocene skeletal elements (though generally fragmentary and few and far between) seems to suggest Middle Pleistocene humans overall featured a more Neanderthal morph. Thus, the modern human morph may be unique to modern humans, evolving quite recently. This

19321-546: Was suggested that some kind of contact of different species of humans happened in the region, one group being from Europe, and the other coming from Asia Minor . On the southern side of the river, on the Suva Planina, there is a Pešturina cave, nicknamed the "Serbian Atapuerca ". Artifacts from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic were discovered since the archaeological excavations began in 2006. The remains, identified as

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