KRAPINA EARLY MAN CELEBRATES 100TH ANNIVERSARY

KRAPINA, Feb 10 (Hina) - The year 1999 could be called the year of the Krapina early man. One hundred years ago, excavations began in Krapina. The archaeological finds date back to 130,000 years ago. The excavations began in 1899 under the supervision of a renowned Croatian geologist, palaeontologist and paleonanthropoligist, Dragutin Gorjanovic Kramberger. The most important find are the remains of the Krapina early man, or the Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis. The local "Okolis" magazine said Kramberger's research was a great contribution to European and global science regarding the 'fossil man'. The half-cave in Krapina, where the remains were found, has been numbered into world science locations as a rich fossil site at which the richest collection of the Neanderthals remains has been found. About nine hundred human fossil remains from several dozen individuals were found in Krapina. The people were between two to forty years of age. Numerous remains were also found of various animals such as the cave bear, wild boar, big deer, elk, beaver, rhinoceros, etc. Also found were more than a thousand pieces of stone tools and weapons from the Palaeolithic age. (hina) lml