Balanica () is a cave complex and paleoarchaeological site in the City of Niš' municipality of Niška Banja in southeast Serbia. It consists of Velika Balanica and Mala Balanica (meaning Great and Little Balanica). The entrances of two caves are apart, at an elevation of , and form one cave system. A third cave, Pešturina, is also nearby. The two Balanica caves extend parallel to each other, likely being connected at the rear. In 2006, remains of Homo heidelbergensis were discovered in Mala Balanica. Estimated to be up to 525,000 years old, it was the oldest hominin remains discovery in Serbia and third oldest in Europe at the time. During the last Interglacial period, 130,000-70,000 BP, the Neanderthals thrived. They lived all over the Balkans, including Balanica. Apart from Pešturina, in the wider Balanica region, evidence of the Neanderthal presence was discovered in the localities of Meča Dupka, Golema Dupka, and Kremenac, all in the Niš and Leskovac depressions, and on the slopes of the Radan mountain. In 2022, Neanderthal remains were discovered in Velika Balanica. Estimated to be 300,000 years old, they are the oldest Neanderthal remains in eastern Europe, and second oldest hominin remains discovered so far in Serbia. This place it in the Middle Pleistocene, quite early in the Neanderthal evolution, and points to the expansion from the west. This makes it one of the oldest localities in Europe where transition from the Lower Paleolithic into the Middle one is recorded. The caves also confirm that the Balkan Peninsula, due to its geographical location, was always an important crossroads, and a migration corridor even for archaic humans, connecting continents already 300,000 years ago. Different hominin morphologies survived and coexisted in the area, making the Balkans a "hotspot of biodiversity". Due to its importance, the Balanica complex and the Pešturina cave are sometimes nicknamed Serbian Atapuerca, being compared to the Spanish Atapuerca, On 10 May 2022, the Government of Serbia placed two Balanica caves under the protection as a cultural monument. They were officially declared an archaeological site under the name "Locality of Velika and Mala Balanica in Sićevo". Location and geography There are three caves in a row, all within the Sićevo Gorge region. The third is Pešturina cave, several kilometers away. All three contain hominin remains, including Neanderthal's in Pešturina. The Balanica caves are some away from the last houses in the Sićevo village. The caves