Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed the 6,000-year-old skeleton of a young man who survived a brutal attack by a large carnivore likely a lion providing rare evidence of prehistoric encounters between humans and big predators.
The remains were discovered at a Late Eneolithic burial site in the Thracian region of eastern Bulgaria and are detailed in the February 2026 edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, according to international media.
Researchers said the man, who lived between 4600 and 4200 BC, was aged 18 to 30 at the time of his death and stood over 5 feet 7 inches tall. His skeleton was found near Kozareva Mogila, or Goat Mound, close to the Black Sea coast.
Examinations revealed severe injuries to the skull and limbs, including puncture wounds consistent with a carnivore attack. The healed wounds suggest the man survived the assault, believed to have occurred during his adolescence.
Paleontologist Nadezhda Karastoyanova of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, who led the zooarchaeological analysis with colleagues Veselin Danov, Petya Petrova and Victoria Ruseva, noted that lions roamed eastern Bulgaria during the Late Eneolithic period.
She added that more than 15 sets of lion remains have been uncovered at prehistoric sites across Bulgaria, some bearing cut marks that point to hunting and butchering by humans.
Researchers emphasized that skeletal evidence of animal attacks from prehistoric times is exceptionally rare, making this discovery particularly significant.
