One usually associates lions with Africa and South Asia & the Middle East. A new paper though, has highlighted how the world’s second-largest cat did roam Europe too, back in the Copper Age, and even attacked humans.
Nadezhda Karastoyanova, Victoria Russeva, Petya Georgieva and Veselin Danov examined a grave at Kozareva mound and its necropolis, located in the bay of Burgas, about 4 km from the modern coastline.
“From a physical‐geographic point of view, this is within the region of Thrace but is also the Black Sea region, and this is reflected in the specifics of the culture of the population during the different periods,” the study noted.
The researchers examined the remains of an individual from Grave # 59 in the Kozareva mound.
“Going back to the event sequences, the individual, still of juvenile age, was subjected to an attack by a massive carnivore, most likely a lion. We have no clues to speculate whether the youngster was a casualty of an incidental encounter, if a predator hunted a vulnerable prey, or if a youth from the prehistoric village performed one of his first serious hunting expeditions. As a result, the youngster was injured extremely badly,” the authors write.
When the marks on the skull of the individual were compared to teeth from large predators, it showed that in terms of shape and size, they most closely matched those of the upper carnassial teeth of a lion.
The researchers hypothesised that the individual was attacked by a lion, knocked to the ground, and bitten multiple times. He survived with severe injuries and lasting effects on both his physical and psychological condition.
“According to the lesion analysis, the individual likely had difficulty walking and may have experienced brain issues. Nevertheless, he lived and was cared for by the community, indicating that they took care of their disabled members,” the authors wrote in the paper.
According to the paper, lions expanded their range significantly in the Balkan peninsula of Southeastern Europe during a favourable climatic phase in the Eneolithic period.
The Eneolithic Age, also called the Copper Age or Chalcolithic Period, was a transitional prehistoric era between the Stone Age (Neolithic) and the Bronze Age. It was characterised by the first use of copper tools alongside continued stone tool use, marking the dawn of metallurgy, larger settlements, trade, and social changes before true alloyed bronze became common.
“Lion remains have been discovered in various Eastern European locations from the Neolithic period to the late Iron Age. The earliest finds are from Bulgaria, Greece, and Hungary. Notably, the most abundant lion remains date to the late Eneolithic period, found in Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Significant remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages have also been discovered in Greece, Albania, and Ukraine,” the paper notes.
According to the authors, their findings provide insights not only into the fauna and the range and behaviour of lions during the Late Eneolithic in Bulgaria but also into the social structure and status of the society that inhabited the Kozareva mound.
Bones, bites, and burials: investigating a skeleton from eneolithic necropolis for evidence of probable lion attack in Bulgaria has been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.