Papers by Tsenka R. Tsanova
Curated character of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic lithic artefact assemblages in Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria), 2024
The dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia during MIS 3 in the Late Pleistocene is
marked by t... more The dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia during MIS 3 in the Late Pleistocene is
marked by technological shifts and other behavioral changes, known in the archaeological record under the term of Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP). Bacho Kiro Cave in north Bulgaria, re-excavated by us from 2015 to 2021, is one of the reference sites for this phenomenon.
The newly excavated lithic assemblages dated by radiocarbon between 45,040 and 43,280
cal BP and attributed to Homo sapiens encompass more than two thousand lithic artifacts.
The lithics, primarily from Layer N1-I, exist amid diverse fauna remains, human fossils,
pierced animal teeth pendants, and sediment with high organic content. This article focuses
on the technological aspects of the IUP lithics, covering raw material origin and use-life,
blank production, on-site knapping activities, re-flaking of lithic implements, and the state of
retouched lithic components. We apply petrography for the identification of silicites and other used stones. We employ chaıˆne ope´ratoire and reduction sequence approaches to profile the lithics techno-typologically and explore the lithic economy, particularly blade production methods, knapping techniques, and artifact curation. Raw material analysis reveals
Lower Cretaceous flints from Ludogorie and Upper Cretaceous flints from the Danube
region, up to 190 km and 130 km, respectively, from Bacho Kiro Cave, indicating long-distance mobility and finished products transport. Imported lithic implements, were a result of unidirectional and bidirectional non-Levallois laminar technology, likely of volumetric concept. Systematic on-anvil techniques (bipolar knapping) and tool segmentation indicate reflaking and reshaping of lithic implements, reflecting on-site curation and multifaceted lithic also regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the
technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia. A limited comparison with other IUP sites reveals certain shared features and regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the
technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia.
Mon agréable obligation est ici de remercier touts les gens et les circonstances qui m'ont aidés ... more Mon agréable obligation est ici de remercier touts les gens et les circonstances qui m'ont aidés et guidée à la réalisation de ce premier grand travail dans ma vie. J'aimerais d'abord remercier les véritables provocateurs de ce travail : les hommes préhistoriques. Merci à eux d'avoir peuplé le territoire actuel de l'Est de Balkans et d'y avoir laissé leurs traces. Merci ensuite aux personnes qui se sont intéressées et qui ont eu la patience de fouiller ces traces préhistoriques. Merci de m'avoir confié ces collections archéologiques. En premier lieu, je remercie mes deux directeurs de thèse : Nikolay Sirakov qui a suivi avec rigueur la création de ce travail parfois avec des doutes, parfois avec confiance. Les discussions que nous avons eues furent vives mais constructives. Michel Lenoir a eu le courage d'accepter cette direction et a toujours été disponible pour les relectures et les discussions. Merci pour son intérêt, pour ses encouragements et sa patience avec mon orthographe. Je remercie ensuite les directeurs du projet franco-bulgare : Jean-Luc Guadelli et Nikolay Sirakov de m'avoir confié l'étude de ce sujet. Parallèlement, je remercie Jean-Philippe Rigaud (l'ex-directeur de l'IPGQ) qui a rendu mon inscription en thèse possible à l'Université Bordeaux 1 et de m'avoir acceptée dans son laboratoire. Je tiens ici à exprimer ma reconnaissance envers Jacques Jaubert (l'actuel directeur de la structure PACEA-IPGQ) pour son aide morale et administrative, pour l'intérêt qu'il a porté à mes travaux universitaires et ses dernières corrections et encouragements. Merci aussi à Jean-Pierre Texier (l'actuel directeur de l'IPGQ) d'avoir toujours compris les besoins de doctorants et de les avoir soutenus. À Stefanka Ivanova (ma première directrice de mémoire universitaire à Sofia) qui m'a confié les premières séries lithiques d'étude, pour la formation initiale et l'intérêt qu'elle a réveillé en moi pour la Préhistoire. Merci ! Parmi mes collègues bulgares, j'aimerais remercier d'abord Elka Anastassova qui m'a énormément aidée lors de l'étalage des collections lithiques de Temnata et la recherche de raccords. Elle m'a offert plusieurs jours de travail. Mes remerciements profonds!
Quaternary International, 2010
The lower levels of the archaeological sequence of Kozarnika cave (north-western Bulgaria) provid... more The lower levels of the archaeological sequence of Kozarnika cave (north-western Bulgaria) provide levels with non-Acheulian core-and-flake (as opposed to pebble-core) industries. Associations with numerous taxa of large mammals indicate that the date of the lower layers of the cave falls between MNQ17 and MNQ19. These layers produced several bones showing anthropic traces. Its date and geographical position place Kozarnika cave as a landmark site in the primary phase of the settlement of Europe.
Nature, May 3, 2023
Artefacts made from stones, bones and teeth are fundamental to our understanding of human subsist... more Artefacts made from stones, bones and teeth are fundamental to our understanding of human subsistence strategies, behaviour and culture in the Pleistocene. Although these resources are plentiful, it is impossible to associate artefacts to specific human individuals1 who can be morphologically or genetically characterized, unless they are found within burials, which are rare in this time period. Thus, our ability to discern the societal roles of Pleistocene individuals based on their biological sex or genetic ancestry is limited2–5. Here we report the development of a non-destructive method for the gradual release of DNA trapped in ancient bone and tooth artefacts. Application of the method to an Upper Palaeolithic deer tooth pendant from Denisova Cave, Russia, resulted in the recovery of ancient human and deer mitochondrial genomes, which allowed us to estimate the age of the pendant at approximately 19,000–25,000 years. Nuclear DNA analysis identifies the presumed maker or wearer of the pendant as a female individual with strong genetic affinities to a group of Ancient North Eurasian individuals who lived around the same time but were previously found only further east in Siberia. Our work redefines how cultural and genetic records can be linked in prehistoric archaeology.
Science Advances, Sep 24, 2021
The expansion of Homo sapiens across Eurasia marked a major milestone in human evolution that wou... more The expansion of Homo sapiens across Eurasia marked a major milestone in human evolution that would eventually lead to our species being found across every continent. Current models propose that these expansions occurred only during episodes of warm climate, based on age correlations between archaeological and climatic records. Here, we obtain direct evidence for the temperatures faced by some of these humans through the oxygen isotope analysis of faunal remains from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria, the earliest clear record of H. sapiens in Europe. The results indicate that humans ∼45,000 years ago experienced subarctic climates with far colder climatic conditions than previously suggested. This demonstrates that the early presence of H. sapiens in Europe was not contingent on warm climates. Our results necessitate the revision of key models of human expansion and highlight the need for a less deterministic role of climate in the study of our evolutionary history.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2023
Journal of Human Evolution
The expansion of Homo sapiens and our interaction with local environments, including the replacem... more The expansion of Homo sapiens and our interaction with local environments, including the replacement or absorption of local populations, is a key component in understanding the evolution of our species. Of special interest are artifacts made from hard animal tissues from layers at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) that have been attributed to the Initial Upper Paleolithic. The Initial Upper Paleolithic is characterized by Levallois-like blade technologies that can cooccur with bone tools and ornaments and likely represents the dispersal of Homo sapiens into several regions throughout Eurasia starting by 45 ka or possibly earlier. Osseous artifacts from the Initial Upper Paleolithic are important components of this record and have the potential to contribute to our understanding of group interactions and population movements. Here, we present a zooarchaeological, technological, and functional analysis of the diverse and sizable osseous artifact collection from Bacho Kiro Cave. Animal raw material sources are consistent with taxa found within the faunal assemblage including cervids, large bovids, and cave bear. A variety of bone tool morphologies, both formal and informal, indicate a diverse technological approach for conducting various on-site activities, many of which were focused on the processing of animal skins, likely for cold weather clothing. Technological flexibility is also evident in the manufacture of personal ornaments, which were made primarily from carnivore teeth, especially cave bear, though herbivore teeth and small beads are also represented. The osseous artifacts from Bacho Kiro Cave provide a series of insights into the bone technology and indirectly on the social aspects of these humans in southeast Europe, and when placed within the broader Initial Upper Paleolithic context, both regional and shared behaviors are evident 2 indicating widespread innovation and complexity. This is especially significant given the location and chronology of the site in the context of Homo sapiens dispersals.
Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2020
The stratigraphy at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria, spans the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition,... more The stratigraphy at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria, spans the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, including an Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) assemblage argued to represent the earliest arrival of Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens in Europe. We applied the latest techniques in 14 C dating to an extensive dataset of newly excavated animal and human bones to produce a robust, high-precision radiocarbon chronology for the site. At the base of the stratigraphy, the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) occupation dates to >51,000 yr bp. A chronological gap of over 3,000 years separates the MP occupation from the occupation of the cave by H. sapiens, which extends to 34,000 cal bp. The extensive IUP assemblage, now associated with directly dated H. sapiens fossils at this site, securely dates to 45,820-43,650 cal bp (95.4% probability), probably beginning from 46,940 cal bp (95.4% probability). The results provide chronological context for the early occupation of Europe by Upper Palaeolithic H. sapiens.
Journal of Human Evolution, 2021
The behavioral dynamics underlying the expansion of Homo sapiens into Europe remains a crucial to... more The behavioral dynamics underlying the expansion of Homo sapiens into Europe remains a crucial topic in human evolution. Owing to poor bone preservation, past studies have strongly focused on the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) stone tool record. Recent excavations and extensive radiocarbon dating at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) pushed back the arrival of IUP H. sapiens into Europe to ca. 45,000 years ago. This site has exceptional bone preservation, and we present the study of 7431 faunal remains from across two IUP layers (I and J) and one Middle Paleolithic layer (K). We identified a shift in site use and occupation intensity through time, marked by increased find density and human modifications in Layer I. Alongside a decrease in carnivore presence and seasonality data demonstrating human presence in all seasons, this indicates a more frequent or prolonged occupation of the site by IUP groups. Contrarily, the dietary focus across the IUP and Middle Paleolithic layers is similar, centered on the exploitation of species from a range of habitats including Bos/Bison, Cervidae, Equidae, and Caprinae. While body parts of large herbivores were selectively transported into the site, the bear remains suggest that these animals died in the cave itself. A distinct aspect of the IUP occupation is an increase in carnivore remains with human modifications, including these cave bears but also smaller taxa (e.g., Canis lupus, Vulpes vulpes). This can be correlated with their exploitation for pendants, and potentially for skins and furs. At a broader scale, we identified similarities in subsistence behavior across IUP sites in Europe and western Asia. It appears that the first IUP occupations were less intense with find densities and human modifications increasing in succeeding IUP layers. Moreover, the exploitation of small game appears to be limited across IUP sites, while carnivore exploitation seems a recurrent strategy.
Nature, 2021
Modern humans appeared in Europe by at least 45,000 years ago1–5, but the extent of their interac... more Modern humans appeared in Europe by at least 45,000 years ago1–5, but the extent of their interactions with Neanderthals, who disappeared by about 40,000 years ago6, and their relationship to the broader expansion of modern humans outside Africa are poorly understood. Here we present genome-wide data from three individuals dated to between 45,930 and 42,580 years ago from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria1,2. They are the earliest Late Pleistocene modern humans known to have been recovered in Europe so far, and were found in association with an Initial Upper Palaeolithic artefact assemblage. Unlike two previously studied individuals of similar ages from Romania7 and Siberia8 who did not contribute detectably to later populations, these individuals are more closely related to present-day and ancient populations in East Asia and the Americas than to later west Eurasian populations. This indicates that they belonged to a modern human migration into Europe that was not previously known from the...
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Papers by Tsenka R. Tsanova
marked by technological shifts and other behavioral changes, known in the archaeological record under the term of Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP). Bacho Kiro Cave in north Bulgaria, re-excavated by us from 2015 to 2021, is one of the reference sites for this phenomenon.
The newly excavated lithic assemblages dated by radiocarbon between 45,040 and 43,280
cal BP and attributed to Homo sapiens encompass more than two thousand lithic artifacts.
The lithics, primarily from Layer N1-I, exist amid diverse fauna remains, human fossils,
pierced animal teeth pendants, and sediment with high organic content. This article focuses
on the technological aspects of the IUP lithics, covering raw material origin and use-life,
blank production, on-site knapping activities, re-flaking of lithic implements, and the state of
retouched lithic components. We apply petrography for the identification of silicites and other used stones. We employ chaıˆne ope´ratoire and reduction sequence approaches to profile the lithics techno-typologically and explore the lithic economy, particularly blade production methods, knapping techniques, and artifact curation. Raw material analysis reveals
Lower Cretaceous flints from Ludogorie and Upper Cretaceous flints from the Danube
region, up to 190 km and 130 km, respectively, from Bacho Kiro Cave, indicating long-distance mobility and finished products transport. Imported lithic implements, were a result of unidirectional and bidirectional non-Levallois laminar technology, likely of volumetric concept. Systematic on-anvil techniques (bipolar knapping) and tool segmentation indicate reflaking and reshaping of lithic implements, reflecting on-site curation and multifaceted lithic also regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the
technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia. A limited comparison with other IUP sites reveals certain shared features and regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the
technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia.
marked by technological shifts and other behavioral changes, known in the archaeological record under the term of Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP). Bacho Kiro Cave in north Bulgaria, re-excavated by us from 2015 to 2021, is one of the reference sites for this phenomenon.
The newly excavated lithic assemblages dated by radiocarbon between 45,040 and 43,280
cal BP and attributed to Homo sapiens encompass more than two thousand lithic artifacts.
The lithics, primarily from Layer N1-I, exist amid diverse fauna remains, human fossils,
pierced animal teeth pendants, and sediment with high organic content. This article focuses
on the technological aspects of the IUP lithics, covering raw material origin and use-life,
blank production, on-site knapping activities, re-flaking of lithic implements, and the state of
retouched lithic components. We apply petrography for the identification of silicites and other used stones. We employ chaıˆne ope´ratoire and reduction sequence approaches to profile the lithics techno-typologically and explore the lithic economy, particularly blade production methods, knapping techniques, and artifact curation. Raw material analysis reveals
Lower Cretaceous flints from Ludogorie and Upper Cretaceous flints from the Danube
region, up to 190 km and 130 km, respectively, from Bacho Kiro Cave, indicating long-distance mobility and finished products transport. Imported lithic implements, were a result of unidirectional and bidirectional non-Levallois laminar technology, likely of volumetric concept. Systematic on-anvil techniques (bipolar knapping) and tool segmentation indicate reflaking and reshaping of lithic implements, reflecting on-site curation and multifaceted lithic also regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the
technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia. A limited comparison with other IUP sites reveals certain shared features and regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the
technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia.