Where did the earliest inhabitants of Bulgaria come from?

Varna, a Bulgarian city on the Black Sea, has beautiful scenery and pleasant climate. It has miles of beaches and is a famous summer resort in Eastern Europe. This seaport city has a long history. It was generally believed that it was built in 572 BC. However, archaeological discoveries since the 1970s have proved that this estimate is too conservative. The history of Varna, more than 6000 years to be exact! The prehistoric cultural achievements of this ancient city, which reappeared in the world, greatly promoted the development history of Bulgarian civilization, making it comparable to the ancient civilizations of Sumer, Egypt and Aegean Sea. However, this great change in world outlook and historical view was caused by a very accidental event in real life.

1in the autumn of 972, a tractor driver named Rico Marinof accidentally found some shiny metal fragments (each 4 inches square), copper tools that were dark green due to rust and corrosion, and a pile of tunnel stone fragments at 1.5 meters underground. Malinov thought it was very important, and he immediately sent these findings to the National Museum in Varna. After testing and identification, one of the bronze axes is a relic of the prehistoric bronze age in Bulgaria (about 5000 BC to 3000 BC), while the shiny metal fragments are the remnants of decorations such as gold bracelets, and the fragments of tunnel tools are prehistoric. This amazing discovery is unprecedented in Bulgaria and has aroused great concern in academic circles. The Varna Museum and sophia university jointly formed an archaeological excavation team, which was organized and guided by the young and outstanding archaeologist Ivanov, and excavated and excavated a prehistoric tomb in a short time. Many objects in the tomb are exquisite handicrafts with exquisite materials. It is hard to believe that they were actually made by prehistoric craftsmen. According to preliminary judgment, these tombs are relics from 3500 BC. Ivanov and his companions were very happy about it. They proudly believe that the historical value of Varna's excavation can be compared with that of German archaeologist heinrich schliemann who discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Troy in the middle of19th century.

However, in the process of deepening the excavation work, Bulgarian archaeologists noticed a phenomenon worthy of further study, but they were puzzled. That is, a considerable part of unearthed cultural relics are craft decorations made of bronze. An ancient copper mine site, as well as a crucible for melting copper and a stone mold for casting, have also been found near the city of Starrazagora. It can be seen that the residents at that time had mastered the technology of smelting and casting. But the question is, was this technology invented by the ancient ancestors of Bulgarians themselves, or was it introduced by outsiders from other ancient civilizations?

On this issue, the view of most scholars in Bulgaria and other countries is that the basic technology of metallurgy originated in Egypt and Sumer, and then spread to the Aegean region. Bronze handicrafts in the early bronze age can be found in Aegean cultural sites excavated in the19th century, such as Troy, Mycenae, Rentis and Crete. On the other hand, Bulgaria's smelting may be carried out in the Aegean region.

But Colin Renfrew, a professor of archaeology at Southampton University in England, disagreed. 1978, he came to Bulgaria for field excavation. According to the excavation and identification of funerary objects in graves in Varna region and marica valley region, he pointed out that the bronze age in Bulgaria was earlier than the same development stage in Aegean region, and the ancient residents here invented smelting technology by themselves very early. This means that this ancient civilized region has its own independent origin, not developed under the influence of ancient civilized regions in the Middle East and Aegean Sea. After Renfrew's viewpoint was put forward, it immediately caused an uproar in international academic circles. Because once this statement is established, not only the history of Bulgaria but also the history of the whole world will be greatly rewritten.

Another question closely related to the origin of prehistoric civilization in Bulgaria is, were the earliest residents in this area local aborigines or immigrants? What kind of social structure did these people live in during the long prehistoric period?

After a long period of investigation and analysis, most scholars believe that the ancestors of Bulgarians migrated from Asia Minor and the Greek Peninsula around 6000 BC, and they were scattered in the Balkans in the form of small groups of immigrants. The earliest inhabitants of Bulgaria made a living by running agriculture, but the production of handicrafts reached a high level in the Stone Age. Necklaces and colored pottery products made of different colors of beach shells were found in a stone age settlement site in Starazgora city, dating back to around 5500 BC. By about 3000 BC, due to the appearance of smelting industry in the Bronze Age, handicraft industry and mining industry had made important development, and the economic and cultural outlook of the whole region had also prospered. In the hundreds of years after 1200 BC, ancient Bulgarian society entered a new and important stage of development, that is, the ethnic tribe period ruled by Thracians.

The tomb of Thracian tribal leaders excavated in Varacha, northwest Bulgaria, shows people some scenes of Thracian life in those days, including three burial sites, one of which consists of two burial rooms, and a beautifully decorated carriage is parked at the entrance of the front room. It is worth noting that three horses pulling carts, together with silver harness, have also become sacrifices. There is also a woman's skeleton next to the horse's skeleton, and a rusty spear is inserted between the ribs, which is obviously intentionally hurt by the martyrs when they resist. The coffin of the tribal leader and his wife was placed in the main tomb. The tribal leader is 30 years old and is equipped with full armor, a dagger and an arrow barrel with 70 arrows. Among them, the helmet is particularly fine in workmanship, and its style is different from that of the bronze helmet with only two eyes in Greece. Carved into a face according to the position of people's five senses, even the hair and eyebrows are clearly identifiable. The funerary objects of the leader's wife are exquisite and breathtaking. Among them, the golden laurel leaf corolla, I'm afraid only the crown of the ancient queen of China can compare with it. But this 18-year-old "queen" died unexpectedly, and a sharp knife deeply penetrated her sternum! Archaeologists and historians believe that the reason for this tragedy is that the Thracian tribe practiced polygamy. When the leader or warrior foresaw that death was coming, he ordered the tribe to kill their favorite and most beautiful wife as a funerary object. From this absurd and barbaric regulation, it is not difficult to see the authority of Thrace tribal leaders and some characteristics of patriarchal society.

Strangely enough, after doing some glorious and fruitful historical activities on the stage of Bulgarian prehistoric culture, the Thracians suddenly interrupted their heroic achievements somehow. Some people speculate that they may have moved to other parts of Europe. It is also inferred that it was caused by foreign invasion war. But these claims lack credible evidence. In contrast, Herodotus, the great Greek historian, has a very enlightening view. He said: "Thracians are the most populous nation in the world after Indians. If they are ruled by one person, or internally consistent, they will be invincible and undoubtedly the most powerful nation in the world. ..... but they can't unite and lose this possibility, which is also the reason for the decline of Thracians. "

Archaeological excavation of prehistoric cultural sites in Bulgaria is still in progress. More than 2000 gold or copper products were found in Varna alone. The largest gold mine in the Bronze Age in continental Europe was also discovered in Urchitum. Many archaeologists believe that there will be more miracles, when people may be able to make an accurate evaluation of Bulgaria's prehistoric cultural achievements in world history.