Balanica

A cave complex in the Sicevo Gorge near Nis, Serbia, consisting of Velika Balanica and Mala Balanica. In 2006, a fragmentary human mandible (BH-1) was discovered in Mala Balanica, dated to 392,000-525,000 years old, making it the oldest hominin fossil from the Central Balkans. The specimen lacks derived Neanderthal features and was initially classified as Homo heidelbergensis, later tentatively reassigned to Homo bodoensis. The mandible is the easternmost Middle Pleistocene hominin specimen found in Europe.