The earliest human remains found in Bulgaria were excavated in the Kozarnika cave, with an approximate age of 1,6 million BCE. This cave probably keeps the earliest evidence of human symbolic behaviour ever found. A fragmented pair of human jaws, which are 44,000 years old, were found in Bacho Kiro cave, but it is disputed whether these early humans were in fact Homo sapiens or Neanderthals.^[1]

The earliest dwellings in Bulgaria – the Stara Zagora Neolithic dwellings – date from 6,000 BCE and are amongst the oldest human-made structures yet discovered.^[2] By the end of the neolithic, the Karanovo, Hamangia and Vinča cultures developed on what is today Bulgaria, southern Romania and eastern Serbia.^[3] The earliest known town in Europe, Solnitsata, was located in present-day Bulgaria.^[4] The Durankulak lake settlement in Bulgaria commenced on a small island, approximately 7000 BCE and around 4700/4600 BCE the stone architecture was already in general use and became a characteristic phenomenon that was unique in Europe.

The eneolithic Varna culture (5000 BCE)^[5] represents the first civilization with a sophisticated social hierarchy in Europe. The centrepiece of this culture is the Varna Necropolis, discovered in the early 1970s. It serves as a tool in understanding how the earliest European societies functioned,^[6] principally through well-preserved ritual burials, pottery, and golden jewellery. The golden rings, bracelets and ceremonial weapons discovered in one of the graves were created between 4,600 and 4200 BCE, which makes them the oldest gold artefacts yet discovered anywhere in the world.^[7]

Some of the earliest evidence of grape cultivation and livestock domestication is associated with the Bronze Age Ezero culture.^[8] The Magura Cave drawings date from the same era, although the exact years of their creation cannot be pin-pointed.