EXPLORATIONS IN THE KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) Beginning of the Middle Paleolithic period – Material from the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic sequence was discovered. The archaeological assemblage shows a well developed Levallois technique. Unlike the later Mousterian assemblages, there were flint artifacts typical of the lower stratum of the end of the Lower Paleolithic period within the assemblage from the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic sequence. This situation suggests relations between cultural traditions of the end of the Lower and the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic period. End of the Lower Paleolithic period – The results provided an absolute dating of the Lower Paleolithic period in stratum 11c: between 900 and 600 ka BP. The stone assemblage of facies of stratum 11a is of interest: it is typical of the Lower Paleolithic period, but includes elements close to the Middle Paleolithic period and represents a ‘proto-Mousterian’ stage in the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic periods. The Balkan Mousterian assemblages have analogies in Southern Anatolia. The materials in both regions known so far were dated after 130 ka BP and the directions of the contacts were unclear. The data from the Kozarnika Cave suggests an influence from the Balkans to the Middle East in the earlier stage of the Middle Paleolithic period. Beginning of the Lower Paleolithic period – Borsodia arancoides, Borsodia hungarica, Lagurodon arankae, Lagurodon praepannonica, Villanya exilis, Hungaromys nanus, and materials of Early Pleistocene fauna: unknown species of small horses (Equus cf. stenonis), goats (Hemitragus nov. sp.), small lynx (Lynx sp.), were found in the earliest stratum 13. They allow stratum 13 to be related to the beginning of the Early Pleistocene, i.e. the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic period in the Kozarnika Cave dates between 1.6 and 1.4 Ma BP. A phalanx of a marmot with cut-marks from skinning was found in stratum 13. This is the earliest evidence for animal skinning.

EXPLORATIONS IN THE KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) Sectors 3 and 4, first and middle stages of the Upper Paleolithic period. Levels VI, VII and VIII were explored on an area of 6 sq. m. Several leaf-like flint points with biface retouching and eight Helices with pierced openings, most likely used as pendants, deserve attention among the finds from level VII. They emphasize the ingenious character of the assemblage, specified as an early stage of a cultural phenomenon with its own designation (‘Kozarnikien’). A lithic technology and Gravettian shapes, Levallois nuclei and products with Middle Paleolithic appearance, and biface leaf-like points were attested in level 6/7. They date to 42 – 43 ka BP and display the transition between the Middle and the Upper Paleolithic periods. Presumably, there was a technological disruption between the Mousterian and Upper Paleolithic components. On the other hand, the leaf-like points have parallels in the lower Mousterian and the later Upper Paleolithic assemblages. Sector 16, Lower and Middle Paleolithic periods. Deformations were explored in layers 11b – 5c. The deformations were result of tectonic activity that occurred in the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, between 39 and 36 ka BP. The bio-stratigraphic zones were compared to the Plio– Pleistocene zones in Europe. Zone B2-2, typical with the presence of Procamptoceras, Hemitragus orientalis, Ovis sp. and Soergelia, correlates with zone 17 of Guerin. Therefore, layers 13 and 12 from the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic in the Kozarnika Cave come from the Early Pleistocene, between 1.6 and 1.4 Ma BP. A burial of a man, c. 25 years old, with an iron arrowhead in his cervical vertebrae, discovered during the previous seasons, dates to AD 1553 ± 45, after the radiocarbon dating.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) Early stages of the Upper Paleolithic period in sector 3, layers 5c, 6/7, with archaeological assemblages VII – VIII. The early phase of the Kozarnika Culture in layer 5c was presented with nuclei for small plates and small plates displaying several technological types. Some small plates were transformed in small points and elements for tools and weapons. The materials find parallels in small plates from Georgia dated to 34 – 32 ka BP. The absence of the classical Aurignac culture suggests that the latter was not transcontinental. Arguments for the absence of Aurignac during the origin of the Upper Paleolithic period in Southeast Europe were found also during the study of materials from Croatia. Layer 6/7 was almost missing. A small number of artifacts, displaying Mousterian rather than Upper Paleolithic features, is found. Late stages of the Lower Paleolithic period and transition to the Mousterian period in sectors 8 – 7, 12. Concavities filled with sediment from layer 10b (beginning of the Middle Paleolithic period) were discovered in layer 11a (end of the Lower Paleolithic period). Small number of artifacts with typical Mousterian shapes was found: two Levallois nuclei, a Mousterian point, a scraper. Nuclei – tools, a bifacial scraper, nuclei displaying Levallois tendency and disc-like nuclei from the developed Lower Paleolithic period were found in layer 11а–а\' in sectors 8 – 7. Nuclei – tools, scrapers and punches were found in layer 11b in sector 12. The faunal assemblages of layers 13, 12, 11c are related to bio-zone 18 and partly 17 after Guerin. Therefore, the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period may be dated between 1.8 Ma and 1.4 Ma BP. The presence of Panthera cf schaubi, Canis etruscus and Chasmaporthetes lunensis, even suggests an earlier date.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) End of the Lower Paleolithic period and the Protomousterian – Sectors 7 – 8, 12. The exploration of layers 11 a – b in Sectors 7 – 8 continued. Several litho-stratigraphic facieses were discovered. Several hundreds flint artifacts, including nuclei with Levallois appearance, were found in facies 11 а`. Presumably, the assemblages of 11 a – а` were related to a Protomousterian variation. Its context refers to bio-stratigraphic zone B1 in the Kozarnika Cave, which began in the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene around 700 ka BP. The Protomousterian assemblages probably refer to the second half of bio-stratigraphic zone B1, which ended at 400 ka BP. Several facieses from the lower part of layer 11 b were explored in sector 12. The flint assemblage is relatively small in number and includes a convergent side-scraper and series of retouched flakes. The discovered bones predominantly originated from hunting activities. The material includes Equus cf. stenonis, Bison sp. and Felis lunensis (archaic horse, bison and wild cat), which date layer 11 b and the archaeological assemblage to 900–700 ka BP. Occupation area in the cave interior of the Middle Paleolithic period. A sondage, which was located at 72 m from the cave entrance, was carried out on an area of 7 sq. m. Data for intensive Mousterian occupation were discovered. Flint artifacts were found: Levallois nuclei and retouched tools, including a roughout of bifacial leaf point. Parallel and even distributed transverse cut-marks were identified on a fragment from horse rib, which was found in a previous archaeological season. The cut-marks could be related to an intention for decoration or could be a designation of quantity. The bone fragment originates from a well dated Middle Gravettian layer of 26 ka BP.

EXPLORATIONS IN THE KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The exploration of Sectors 7, 8 and 12 in the cave entrance and Sectors 72 – 75 in the cave interior continued. Occupation stages of the beginning of the upper and the middle part of the Lower Paleolithic sequence – Flint assemblages, consisting of several hundred artifacts each, were discovered in layer 11b (Sectors 7, 8). Facieses, predominantly consisting of flakes without informative elements and related to the lower part of layer 11b, layer 11c and the upper part of layer 12, were found in Sector 12. The facieses in the upper part of layer 11b are related to the Lower Paleolithic period that preceded the Protomousterian. Semi-steep retouched flakes prevail among the retouched shapes, but there are also core-tools, punches and rarely scrapers. The layers from the middle (the lower part of 11b, 11c) and from the end of the lower part of the sequence contain bones. The material includes bones from Procamptoceras brivatense and a regional variety of Equus cf. stenonis related to bio-stratigraphic zones 18 and 19 after Guerin, which date between 1.8 Ma and 1 Ma BP. The relevant layers in the Kozarnika Cave date between 1.6–1.4 Ma and 1 Ma BP. The exploration of the Middle Paleolithic sequence in Sectors 72 – 75 continued and earlier stages related to layer 10b and probably 10c were uncovered. A domination of the Levallois methods of debitage was attested, along with the use of the disc debitage and other simpler methods. The shapes include bifacial leaf points, scrapers and flakes retouched from both sides. If the lower layers of the Middle Paleolithic period date before the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene, there would be more arguments for the early appearance of the Mousterian with leaf points.

EXPLORATIONS IN THE KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) Middle and early stages of the Lower Palaeolithic sequence: The lower part of layer 11b was explored in Sectors 7 and 8. The archaeological assemblages from this litho-stratigraphic context came from the middle stages of the Lower Palaeolithic period. The upper levels of the context, containing archaeological assemblages from the early stages of the Upper Palaeolithic period, were explored in Sector 12. A tendency for the quantity of the stone assemblages to decrease was documented during the exploration of the layers through the middle towards the early stages of the Upper Palaeolithic period. Technologically, more variants of the simplified debitage and the debitage with alternation were documented. The shapes included retouched flakes and core-tools and sporadically, scrapers and punches. A canine of a primate (family Cercopothecidae, sub-family Colobinae, or sub-family Cercopithecinae, genus Theropithecus) and a molar Gazellospira sp. were found. They were biostratigraphic markers for the first half and the middle of the Early Pleistocene (1.8 – 1.4 Ma BP). A fragment of a lower jaw of Acinonyx cf. pardinensis was found in layer 11b, in the stratigraphic position of 1.2 – 1 Ma BP. Middle Palaeolithic sequence: The beginning of the human settlement in the Middle Palaeolithic was reached in Sectors 72 – 75 situated in the cave interior. Flint assemblages, displaying technological and typological features of the early stages of the Middle Palaeolithic period in the cave entrance, were found. Samples for tephrological analysis and date were taken from the eastern profile of the excavations in the cave entrance. At least two periods with volcano eruptions in Southern Italy were documented with traces of volcano ash in the layers of the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic periods.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Jean-Luc Guadelli – jeanluc.guadelli@wanadoo.fr, Nikolai Sirakov) The exploration of the middle phases of the Lower Paleolithic sequence continued in Sectors 7 – 8 situated in the entrance of the cave. The lower part of layer 11b was explored and the exploration of the upper part of layer 11c began. The flint assemblages included scrap from the production process and retouched fragments. The typologically diagnostic shapes included flint scrapers and a fragment with Levalloisian appearance. Layer 12 was explored in Sector 12 and the exploration of layer 13a/13b began. The density of the bones from the hunted animals significantly decreased, evidently reflecting the lower intensity of the occupation related to the demographic situation during the early settlement in the cave when the population of the hominids was small. The explorations displayed the continuous and gradually increasing occupation in the cave for at least one million years (from 1.6 – 1.4 to 0.4 Ma BP). The fauna assemblages from the Lower Paleolithic period included Homotherium cf. crenatides testifying that the early phases (layers 13a/13b) in the cave dated to the beginning of the Early Pleistocene (1.6 – 1.3 Ma BP) and Hemitragus orientalis from the beginning of the Early Pleistocene (1.8 – 1.4 Ma BP). The exploration of the Middle Paleolithic sequence in Sector 71 situated in the cave interior continued. Layers from the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic periods were explored in trenches J-71 and I-71, but no diagnostic artifacts that may provide more precise chronology were discovered. The beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period (layers 6/7) preceded the traces from the Campanian Ignimbrite related to intensive volcanic activity in Southern Italy which occurred around 39,000 BP. This situation indicated the less significant influence of the ecological factors for the disappearance of the Neanderthals and the appearance of Homo sapiens. The change of the human populations during the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic periods was a gradual process with regional differences.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The Lower Paleolithic Sequence in the entry gallery was explored. Stratum 11b was thoroughly explored in Sectors 7 and 8 and the exploration of Strata 11c and 12 begun, both of them dating to the transition from the early to the middle stages of the Lower Paleolithic period. Facieses in Stratum 13 were explored in Sector 12, dated to the early stages of the Lower Paleolithic period. The explorations of the earliest stages of human occupation in the cave indicated the decrease of the quantity of anthropic traces (flint artifacts and faunal remains), probably reflecting the demographic situation with the first settlers in Europe: early Homines whose populations were too small in number. Splinters, scrapers and awls prevailed among the retouched flint tools. A bone artifact with incised parallel cut-marks originating from Stratum 12 deserved special attention. It corresponded to two other artifacts from the same context dated to the early phases of the Lower Paleolithic period, which displayed similar organization and technique of the cut-marks. All these artifacts were specified as a unique group displaying the earliest expressions of symbolic behavior during the Lower Paleolithic period known so far. According to the osteological analysis, the following animals were identified: Equus stenonis, Bovidae, Panthera cf. Schaubi, Vulpes alopecoides, and Ursus etruscus. The early stages of the Lower Paleolithic period in the Kozarnika Cave were related to zones 18 and 17 of Guerin, i.e. to the middle of the Early Pleistocene (1.6 – 1.4 Ma BP). The Middle Paleolithic period in the cave interior was explored. Middle Paleolithic assemblages, related to the Balkan Mousterian with prevailing Levallois technique, were explored in Sector 71. The presence of Ursus spelaeus during 40,000 – 30,000 BP was documented and in that period Upper Paleolithic human groups already occupied the entry gallery of the cave for at least several millennia.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The exploration of the contact zone between Strata 11c and 12 was completed in Sectors Nos. 7 and 8 in the entry hall of the cave. The upper part of Stratum 12 could be related to the late phases of the early stage of the Lower Paleolithic period. The flint series from that context included several core-tools, an atypical bec dejeté and retouched splinters. After the exploration of Stratum 13 was completed in Sector 12, the excavation of Stratum 14 began and it was found that the stratum was sterile. During the explorations, bones from Ursus cf. etruscus, Homoterium sp., Meles sp., Panthera schaubi and Procamptoceras were found. The features of the Pleistocene fauna indicated that the early stages of the Lower Paleolithic period in the Kozarnika Cave dated to 1.6 – 1.4 Ma BP. The presence of tephra indicating volcanic activity was confirmed in Stratum 9c, which showed that the late phases of the Middle Paleolithic period dated to 55 – 60 Ka BP.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) Stages from the Upper Paleolithic occupation were explored in Sectors DE7–10 in the entry hall of the cave: the late phases of Kozarnika Culture, particularly contact layer between Levels II and III and Level III (20 – 19 Ka BP) and the upper part of Level IVa (26 – 25 Ka BP). The flint assemblages of the late and the middle phases of Kozarnika Culture were featured with a developed production of fakes, mostly with local flint raw material. The typology of the retouched shapes and the functional tools indicated tendency towards production of hunting weapons, tools for cutting the killed animals and tools used in the jewelry workshop. The paleontological assemblages included bones from the hunted animals (mainly Late Pleistocene horses and bison) and from cave lions. The finds included raw material, production scrap and jewelry: beads, bracelets, brooches and appliqués for clothes. The jewelry was produced from snails and shells: Melanopsis sp., Pirenella sp., Potamides sp., Theodoxus sp., Duplicata sp., Granulolabium sp., Cerithium sp., Cyclope sp., Dentalium sp., Cardiidae, Plicatiforma praeplicata praeplicata, Veneridae/Tapes sp., Ammonoidea (juv.). Serpentinite was used for the production of jewelry as well. This is among the earliest jewelry discovered in Southeast Europe and related to Homo sapiens sapiens, dated from 39 to 19 Ka BP. The jewelry played role in the personal identification and the social status of the owners. The differences in the Upper Paleolithic assemblages of jewelry in Europe and the Middle East could reflect the appearance of ethno-linguistic groups in these regions.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The excavations in Sectors DE7–DE10 in the entrance hall of the cave continued. Occupation layers ІVа, ІVb and the upper part of V were explored, situated in Strata 4 and 5a of the Upper Paleolithic period dated to the middle phases of the Kozarnika Culture (26 – 25 ka BP). An earlier stage of the jewelry production of beads for necklaces, brooches and appliqués for clothes, discovered in 2013, was documented. Similarly to the later phases of the Kozarnika Culture (25 – 19 ka BP), mostly euryhaline fossils were used for the jewelry production, but also Pleistocene freshwater snails and shells. The flint assemblages of the middle phases of the Kozarnika Culture displayed an increased production and a larger variety of the small plates and the techniques of debitage. The small plates were used for the production of arrowheads and elements of complex tools and weapons. A fragment from a Paleolithic “Venus” was found, produced from a bone, most probably for a bison, and dated to 26 – 25 ka BP. A Neanderthal radius was reconstructed from fragments, belonging to a child less than one year old and originating from the upper part of layer 10b of the Middle Paleolithic period, dated to 140 – 130 ka BP. Almost 20 more human bones and teeth were discovered, most of them undoubtedly belonging to Homo sapiens.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) Layers of the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period were explored in Sectors DE7–DE10 in the entry hall of the cave and in Sector III in beginning of the gallery towards its interior, relevant to the early and partly to the middle phases of the Kozarnika Culture (39,000 – 26,000 BP). The flint assemblages of the early phases of the Kozarnika Culture displayed a technological variety. The artifacts included arrowheads and elements of complex tools (knives, saws, small awls and scrapers). The sporadic presence of Mousterian shapes in the transition to the earliest phase of the Kozarnika Culture (42,000 – 39,000 BP) indicated the end of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic period. Aurignacian artifacts were found in Sector III: two flint scrapers and a flake and a fragment of a bone point dated to 34,500 – 31,000 BP. The faunal remains indicated hunting of deer, wild goats, horses, oxen and predators.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The explorations continued in Sectors DE7–DE10 in the entry hall of the cave. Layers from the earliest phases of the Kozarnika Culture of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic periods and the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period (43,000 – 38,000 BP) were explored. In Sector III, it was proved that the layers belonged to the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic periods and the earliest phases of the Upper Paleolithic period. In addition, it was proved that the contacts with the Aurignacian traditions were occasional. The earliest phases of the Kozarnika Culture were documented in layers VIIIa and VIIIb. Typical artifacts were flint leaf-like points attested in the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic sequence (>150 Kа BP) at the earliest, but also present in the early and the middle phases of the Upper Paleolithic period. Special interest deserved the Upper Paleolithic flint flake nuclei and chips from their production which were subsequently transformed into Middle Paleolithic scrapes. Probably, Middle Paleolithic groups visited or occupied the cave, following the Upper Paleolithic groups, and thus they transformed abandoned Upper Paleolithic flint artifacts, or Upper Paleolithic groups inherited from the Middle Paleolithic groups not only producing the leaf-like points, but also other tools like the scrapes. This indicated a longer coexistence of Middle and Upper Paleolithic groups. Special interest deserved a bone fragment with incised image of a fish dated to 43,000 – 41,000 BP. The faunal remains indicated hunting of horses, donkeys, wild goats and bison. A fragment of a rib and a tooth of a child and a tooth of another individual were found in the two sectors, probably belonging to Homo sapiens.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The explorations continued in Sectors I and III in the entry hall of the cave and close behind it. Layers of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic periods (40,000 – 45,000 BP) were explored, reaching the late phases of the Middle Paleolithic period beneath, mostly in Sector I (45,000/47,000 – 57,000 BP). In the contact zone of Layers 6/7 and 9, the lowest parts of Strata VIIIa and VIIIb were discovered, dated to the very beginning of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic periods. The flint assemblages of the end of the Middle Paleolithic period almost lacked technological variety and the combination of Middle and Upper Paleolithic techniques, typical of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic periods. The animal bones from the late phases of the Middle Paleolithic period belonged to Bos primigenius, Bison priscus, Equus caballus, Equus hydruntinus and Capra caucasica. A layer was documented, containing microtephra originating from the volcanic activity in the southwestern part of the Apennines dated to 57,000 BP. Early coexistence and contacts between local Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals and Late Paleolithic immigrating groups of Homo sapiens, coming from the Middle East, were documented in the cave. Even earlier immigrating groups coming from the Middle East before 120,000 BP might have been present in the Balkans, who might have been the first groups of Homo sapiens outside Africa who were bearing Middle Paleolithic traditions.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The explorations continued in Sector I in the entrance hall of the cave and in Trenches GH29-30 in the next Sector III. Flint artifacts from the transition between the Middle and the Upper Paleolithic periods were found in some sectors. In Trenches DE7-10 in Sector I the explorations of the latest phases of the Middle Paleolithic period (57,000 – 47,000/45,000 BP) continued and the explorations of its penultimate phases was launched, identified in the contexts of the lower part of Stratum 9–9c, the contact zone of Strata 9c/10a and the upper part of Stratum 10a. Predecessors of the Middle / Upper Paleolithic transition within the Levallois and similar concepts (scrapers and a bifacial arrowhead) occurred in the flint assemblages from the penultimate phases of the Middle Paleolithic period. The osteological remains from the hunted prey included wild horses and goats, deer, steppe bison and rarely mammoths, while the osteological remains from the predators included mostly cave bears and rarely foxes. Of special importance here would have been the presence of Homo sapiens who emigrated from the Middle East to the Balkans, but were still a Middle Paleolithic population. The newly discovered phases of the Middle Paleolithic period could be dated between 80/75 ka and 55 kа ВР.

KOZARNIKA CAVE (Nikolai Sirakov – nikolaysirakov@gmail.com, Jean-Luc Guadelli) The explorations continued in Sectors I and III in the entry hall of the cave and in the gallery towards the interior. In Sector III layers of the middle and partly the initial phases of the Upper Paleolithic period were documented, dated by the features of the flint artifacts: retouched flakes related to Gravettian Culture, and a small bone point dated to the transition of the Middle and the Upper Paleolithic and the initial Upper Paleolithic period. In Sector III, contexts with similar small bone points, sometimes with Aurignacian flint artifacts, were dated to 37,800±900 – 36,600±750 BP. In Sector I, in Trenches DE7–DE10 the explorations of the layers of the middle phases of the Middle Paleolithic period (before 75,000 BP) were launched in Stratum 10a. Hearths, faunal remains and flint artifacts of the middle phases of the Middle Paleolithic period with aspects of Levallois/Mousterian technique were discovered. Scrapers, some of them retouched, and awls were found. The faunal remains included hunting prey: Capra cf. Caucasica, Cervidae ind., Megaloceros giganteus, rarely Equus caballus cf. Germanicus and very few Mammuthus primigenius, and predators: Ursus spelaeus, Crocuta crocuta spelaea, Canis lupus and rarely Vulpes vulpes. This particular fauna indicated grassy-grade landscape with wooded areas and moderate humidity. The documented stages of the Middle Paleolithic period dated to 110,000 – 80,000 / 75,000 BP and were related to local Neanderthal groups. It is also possible that groups of early Middle Eastern Homo sapiens (still Middle Paleolithic) were present during the middle phases of the Middle Paleolithic period in Kozarnika Cave.