On the Middle Palaeolithic leaf points from Bulgaria (South East Europe)

This study presents the Middle Palaeolithic leaf points discovered on the territory of Bulgaria. The context of their discovery is various : from archaeological excavations, field surveys, various collections, or isolated finds. There are 11 sites on the territory of Bulgaria with leaf points : Muselievo, Samuilitsa II Cave, Vasil Levski Cave, Orlova Chuka Cave, Madara, Kozarnika Cave, Temnata Cave, Redaka II Cave, Shiroka Polyana Dam, Vrashka Chuka, Ruse. Except for the leaf points from the surroundings of Shiroka Polyana Dam, all the pieces were discovered in Northern Bulgaria. Most of the points come from assemblages associated with the Levallois-Mousterian industry, while others have no stratigraphic context (Malkata Peshtera in Madara, Vrashka Chuka, Ruse, Redaka II). During the Middle Palaeolithic, the distribution of leaf points covered almost all Bulgaria, becoming more abundant towards the end of this period. The artefacts from Muselievo and Samuilitsa II dating from the period of 60.000– 45.000 BP endorse such a conclusion. The points from Vasil Levski, Orlova Chuka, Redaka, Vrashka Chuka, Madara, Ruse, and Shiroka Polyana can also be attributed to the same time period. Special attention must be given to the deposit near Muselievo. Defined as a workshop for the production of leaf points (one of the few sites of the kind in Europe), it allows for a more accurate and detailed study of this kind of tools