Study Suggests Prehistoric Teenager Survived Lion Attack for Several Months

SOFIA, BULGARIA—According to a Live Science report, researchers including archaeozoologist Nadezhda Karastoyanova of the National Museum of Natural History of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NMNH-BAS) examined the 6,200-year-old skeletal remains of a teenaged boy and determined that he had been attacked by a lion (Panthera leo). The boy, whose remains were unearthed in eastern Bulgaria at a prehistoric settlement site known as Kozareva Mogila, is thought to have been knocked to the ground before his legs, left arm, and head were bitten repeatedly. The attack resulted in severe puncture wounds likely to have caused damage to his brain, Karastoyanova explained. To identify the predator, the NMNH-BAS researchers molded the bites of large carnivores in the museum’s skeletal collections, including those from the skulls of lions and bears. They then compared these tooth imprints with the wounds on the boy’s skull, and considered the distribution of large carnivores in the region. Evidence of healing, however, indicates that the teen likely received medical care and survived for two or three months after the Panthera leo attack. Read the original scholarly article about this research in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. To read about these big cats' symbolic significance throughout the ancient world, go to "When Lions Were King."