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69-624: The Divje Babe flute , also called tidldibab , is a cave bear femur pierced by spaced holes that was unearthed in 1995 during systematic archaeological excavations led by the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts , at the Divje Babe I near Cerkno in northwestern Slovenia . It has been suggested that it was made by Neanderthals as

138-468: A bear humerus , a scraper, a core, and some flakes, which were interpreted as grave offerings. An unusual discovery in a deep chamber of Basura Cave in Savona , Italy, is thought to be related to cave bear worship, because there is a vaguely zoomorphic stalagmite surrounded by clay pellets. It is thought to have been used by Neanderthals for a ceremony; bear bones scattered on the floor further suggests it

207-441: A cave called Bears' Cave , 140 cave bear skeletons were discovered in 1983. Cave bear bones are found in several caves in the country of Georgia . In 2021, Akaki Tsereteli State University 's students and a lecturer discovered two complete cave bear skulls, with molars, canines, humerus, three vertebrae and other bones, in a previously unexplored cave. Both the cave bear and the brown bear are thought to be descended from

276-403: A diatonic scale, but in a very different way than proposed by Fink. See reconstruction below. Ljuben Dimkaroski created a replica instrument based on the proposed intact form of the flute. This replica has demonstrated that it could indeed be used as a flute, and produce well known musical scales. Though this artifact had been previously studied by several musical researchers, Ljuben Dimkaroski,

345-600: A find from the Middle Paleolithic ( Mousterian ) might indicate previously unknown symbolic behavior among Neanderthals. The location of the site is a horizontal cave , 45 metres (148 ft) long and up to 15 metres (49 ft) wide; it is 230 m (750 ft) above the Idrijca River , near Cerkno , and is accessible to visitors. Researchers working at the site have uncovered more than 600 archaeological items in at least ten levels, including twenty hearths and

414-595: A form of musical instrument , and became known as the Neanderthal flute . The artifact is on prominent public display in the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana as a Neanderthal flute. As such, it would be the world's oldest known musical instrument . This claim was met with severe criticism and dispute within the scientific community. There are no other known instances of a Neanderthal musical instrument, and such

483-416: A high winter mortality rate for cave bears that failed to find available caves. Therefore, as human populations slowly increased, the cave bear faced a shrinking pool of suitable caves, and slowly faded away to extinction, as both Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans sought out caves as living quarters, depriving the cave bear of vital habitat. This hypothesis is being researched as of 2010 . According to

552-462: A largely vegetarian diet. In a fourth of the skulls found in the Conturines , the third premolar is still present, while more derived specimens elsewhere lack it. The last remaining premolar became conjugated with the true molars , enlarging the crown and granting it more cusps and cutting borders. This phenomenon, called molarization , improved the mastication capacities of the molars, facilitating

621-465: A major part of cave bears' diets on the basis of dental microwear analysis. Seed fruits are documented to have been consumed by cave bears. The morphological features of the cave bear chewing apparatus, including loss of premolars, have long been suggested to indicate their diets displayed a higher degree of herbivory than the Eurasian brown bear . Indeed, a solely vegetarian diet has been inferred on

690-412: A misconception that the female skeletons were merely "dwarfs". Cave bears grew larger during glaciations and smaller during interglacials, probably to adjust heat loss rate. Cave bears of the last Ice Age lacked the usual two or three premolars present in other bears; to compensate, the last molar is very elongated, with supplementary cusps. The humerus of the cave bear was similar in size to that of

759-428: A musical instrument. Much of this argument hinges on whether the notches at the ends are evidence of 4 or 5 holes in the prior intact flute. Bob Fink (1997) claimed that the bone's holes were "consistent with four notes of the diatonic scale" (do, re, mi, fa) based on the spacing of those four holes. He argued that this spacing of the holes on a modern diatonic flute are unique, and not arbitrarily spaced, and that with

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828-421: A palm hole (hole 5) on the anterior side of the femur. Notch 4 is left as a notch, rather than reconstructing it as a hole. This forms an opening on the distal part with the function of a bell or closure. With a finger of the right hand, the notch on the posterior distal side may be formed into an additional hole. The opening provides the possibility of playing on an open or closed bell, which additionally enriches

897-402: A professional musician, undertook his own independent study in 2011. In collaboration with Matija Turk, Dimkarowski created over 100 experimental wooden and bone replicas of the flute. Dimkaroski's replica oriented the instrument using the proximal end of the femur as a mouthpiece. On the anterior proximal part a straight sharpened edge is preserved, which Dimkaroski considered to be a remnant of

966-432: A relatively restricted geographical range. This was suggested as an explanation as to why it died out so much earlier than the rest. Some experts have disputed this claim, as the cave bear had survived multiple climate changes prior to extinction. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA research indicated that the genetic decline of the cave bear began long before it became extinct, demonstrating habitat loss due to climate change

1035-490: A steep forehead; its stout body had long thighs, massive shins and in-turning feet, making it similar in skeletal structure to the brown bear. Cave bears were comparable in size to, or larger than, the largest modern-day bears, measuring up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in length. The average weight for males was 350 to 600 kg (770 to 1,320 lb), while females weighed 225 to 250 kg (495 to 550 lb). Of cave bear skeletons in museums, 90% are classified as male due to

1104-472: Is "far from convincing". Insoll also states that comparisons with the religious practices involving bears that are known from historic times are invalid. A similar phenomenon was encountered in Regourdou, southern France. A rectangular pit contained the remains of at least twenty bears, covered by a massive stone slab. The remains of a Neanderthal lay nearby in another stone pit, with various objects, including

1173-560: Is a composite word made up of the initials of the archaeologist who is credited with the discovery of the instrument (Turk Ivan), the musician and maker of its replicas (Dimkaroski Ljuben) and the name of its archaeological find spot (Divje Babe). Cave bear The cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ) is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during

1242-515: Is also evidence that cave bears suffered from tuberculosis. Male cave bear skeletons have been found with broken bacula , probably due to fighting during the breeding season. Cave bear longevity is unknown, though it has been estimated that they seldom exceeded twenty years of age. Paleontologists doubt adult cave bears had any natural predators, save for pack-hunting wolves and cave hyenas , which would probably have attacked sick or infirm individuals. Cave hyenas are thought to be responsible for

1311-560: Is possible for this artifact to be produced with known Neanderthal tools. Pointed stone tools appropriate for piercing bone were found in several Mousterian levels at Divje babe I. In addition, several ad hoc bone punches were found in Mousterian levels. Iain Morley (2006) was critical of Kunej and Turk's assessment, noting that despite the large number of bones discovered at the site, "only two [showed] other possible cases of human action ... and

1380-445: Is the amount of mass lost per 1000 cycles of abrasion. The latter is the ratio of former with the known abrasion rate for some specific reference material. One type of instrument used to get the abrasion rate and normalized abrasion rate is the abrasion scrub tester, which is made up of a mechanical arm , liquid pump, and programmable electronics. The machine draws the mechanical arm with attached brush (or sandpaper, sponge, etc.) over

1449-457: Is whether it is more likely to be a Neanderthal made flute, or simply the product of a carnivore's chewing. Debate focuses on the following three questions: The artifact is an 11.4 cm long left diaphysis of femur that belonged to a one to two year old cave bear cub. On the posterior side, there are two complete holes in the central diaphysis (2 and 3). At both ends, the bone is broken, but there are two semicircular notches, one on each side of

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1518-795: The British Isles in the west, Belgium, Italy , parts of Germany , Poland , the Balkans , Romania , Georgia , and parts of Russia , including the Caucasus ; and northern Iran . No traces of cave bears have been found in the northern British Isles, Scandinavia or the Baltic countries , which were all covered in extensive glaciers at the time. The largest numbers of cave bear remains have been found in Austria , Switzerland , northern Italy, northern Spain, southern France, and Romania, roughly corresponding with

1587-585: The Last Glacial Maximum . Both the word cave and the scientific name spelaeus are used because fossils of this species were mostly found in caves . This reflects the views of experts that cave bears may have spent more time in caves than the brown bear , which uses caves only for hibernation . It is thought to have been largely herbivorous. Cave bear skeletons were first described in 1774 by Johann Friedrich Esper, in his book Newly Discovered Zoolites of Unknown Four Footed Animals . While scientists at

1656-509: The Plio-Pleistocene Etruscan bear ( Ursus etruscus ) that lived about 5.3  Mya to 100,000 years ago. The last common ancestor of cave bears and brown bears lived between 1.2–1.4 Mya. The immediate precursor of the cave bear was probably Ursus deningeri (Deninger's bear), a species restricted to Pleistocene Europe about 1.8 Mya to 100,000 years ago. The transition between Deninger's bear and

1725-408: The polar bear , as were the femora of females. The femora of male cave bears, however, bore more similarities in size to those of Kodiak bears . Cave bear teeth were very large and show greater wear than most modern bear species, suggesting a diet of tough materials. However, tubers and other gritty food, which cause distinctive tooth wear in modern brown bears, do not appear to have constituted

1794-433: The polymerase chain reaction ), the scientists recovered 21 cave bear genes from remains that did not yield significant amounts of DNA with traditional techniques. This study confirmed and built on results from a previous study using mitochondrial DNA extracted from cave bear remains ranging from 20,000 to 130,000 years old. Both show that the cave bear was more closely related to the brown bear and polar bear than it

1863-523: The German caves Hohle Fels , Geißenklösterle and Vogelherd . The Neanderthal musical instrument is on display at the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana. Whether the artifact is actually a flute created by Neanderthals was a subject of a long debate, and many believe the holes in the bone are not of artificial origin. Archeologist Mitja Brodar , who worked at the site before Turk, was very skeptical that

1932-654: The Pyrenees, Alps, and Carpathians. The huge number of bones found in southern, central and eastern Europe has led some scientists to think Europe may have once had herds of cave bears. Others, however, point out that, though some caves have thousands of bones, they were accumulated over a period of 100,000 years or more, thus requiring only two deaths in a cave per year to account for the large numbers. The cave bear inhabited low mountainous areas, especially in regions rich in limestone caves. They seem to have avoided open plains, preferring forested or forest-edged terrains. Between

2001-413: The abraded surface of the cortical bone. Inside the medullary cavity from which the spongy bone was removed, the cortical bone is broken off at the edge of notch/hole 1, 2, 3, and 5. A funnel-shaped fracture of the inner edge of these holes is a typical damage occurring during piercing the cortical bone. Notch 4 does not have a funnel-shaped fracture inside the medullary cavity. On the posterior side of

2070-534: The advent of the glaciers. Populations living south of the Alps possibly survived significantly longer. Abrasion (mechanical) Ancient artists, working in stone, used abrasion to create sculptures. The artist selected dense stones like carbonite and emery and rubbed them consistently against comparatively softer stones like limestone and granite. The artist used different sizes and shapes of abrasives, or turned them in various ways as they rubbed, to create effects on

2139-479: The age of the flute is now estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 years BP. Arguments have been made that the holes were most likely created by the teeth of an animal, chewing or gnawing on the bone, and that the resemblance to a flute is only coincidental. Other known Upper Palaeolithic flutes made from the limb bones of mammals show clear traces of artificial creation of holes which were carved or drilled with stone tools . In flutes made from thin, delicate bird bones,

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2208-443: The basis of tooth morphology. Results obtained on the stable isotopes of cave bear bones also point to a largely vegetarian diet in having low levels of nitrogen-15 and carbon-13 , which are accumulated at a faster rate by carnivores as opposed to herbivores. However, some evidence points toward the occasional inclusion of animal protein in cave bear diets. For example, toothmarks on cave bear remains in areas where cave bears are

2277-402: The bear bone. Fink proposed that the spacing of the flute's holes matches music's standard diatonic scale. ... Nowell and Chase teamed with a more musically inclined colleague to show that the bear bone would need to be twice its natural total length to conform to a diatonic scale. Ljuben Dimkaroski (2011) created a reconstruction of the instrument based on his own research, which was able to play

2346-408: The blowing edge of its mouthpiece . With this orientation of the instrument, the role of hole 5 on the anterior side, becomes a palm hole rather than a thumb hole as previously thought. In the reverse orientation, Dimkaroski found the location of this hole was too close to the mouthpiece and thus dysfunctional. The reconstructed instrument has three finger holes (holes 1–3) on the posterior side and

2415-415: The bone artifact. Based on the radiocarbon dating of the charcoal found in the hearth, the age of the flute was initially estimated at 43,100 ± 700 years BP. Later dating using electron spin resonance (ESR) has shown that the layer containing the flute was outside the accurate range of the radiocarbon method, and that the original dating of samples from this layer was incorrect. According to ESR dating,

2484-421: The bone was of Neanderthal origin. Many others have suggested it could have been produced by animals biting or chewing the bone, and consider a carnivore origin more likely. The National Museum of Slovenia maintains that evidence presented by Turk in 2005 had "finally refuted hypotheses that the bone was perforated because of a bear bite". The manufacture by Neanderthals "is reliably proven" and its significance in

2553-510: The bone, a V-shaped fracture is present on the proximal end, reaching the nearest notch 1. On either side of this fracture is a partial straight sharp edge, presumed to be a mouthpiece by Turk. A similar fracture is present on the anterior side of the distal end, reaching notch 5, which was presumed to be a thumb hole for the flute. The Neanderthal flute was found in the Mousterian level, which contained lithic artefacts and hearths . The flute

2622-498: The cave bear is given as the last interglacial, although the boundary between these forms is arbitrary, and intermediate or transitional taxa have been proposed, e.g. Ursus spelaeus deningeroides , while other authorities consider both taxa to be chronological variants of the same species. Cave bears found anywhere will vary in age, thus facilitating investigations into evolutionary trends. The three anterior premolars were gradually reduced, then disappeared, possibly in response to

2691-489: The cave bear population drastically declined starting around 40,000 years ago at the onset of the Aurignacian , coinciding with the arrival of anatomically modern humans. It was concluded that human hunting and/or competition played a major role in their decline and ultimate disappearance, and that climate change was not likely to have been the dominant factor. In a study of Spanish cave bear mtDNA, each cave used by cave bears

2760-511: The cave bear's survival. However, the two species may have competed for living space in caves. The Chauvet Cave contains around 300 "bear hollows" created by cave bear hibernation. Unlike brown bears, cave bears are seldom represented in cave paintings, leading some experts to believe the cave bear may have been avoided by human hunters or their habitat preferences may not have overlapped. Paleontologist Björn Kurtén hypothesized cave bear populations were fragmented and under stress even before

2829-406: The correct total length of bone it would perfectly match this scale. After Kunej and Turk (2000) argued that due to the age of the bear cub, it could not be as long as proposed, Fink updated the argument on his personal website with a proposition that the bone may have been extended with another section of bone. Nowell and Chase had been first to raise the counter-argument that the juvenile bear bone

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2898-503: The current prevailing opinion concludes that cave bears were largely herbivorous, and more so than any modern species of the genus Ursus , increasing evidence points to omnivorous diets, based both on regional variability of isotopic composition of bone remains indicative of dietary plasticity, and on a recent re-evaluation of craniodental morphology that places the cave bear squarely among omnivorous modern bear species with respect to its skull and tooth shapes. Death during hibernation

2967-599: The days and weeks leading up to hibernation. Additionally, cave bear remains from Peștera cu Oase in the southwestern tip of the Romanian part of the Carpathian Mountains had elevated levels of nitrogen-15 in their bones, indicative of omnivorous diets, although the values are within the range of those found for the strictly herbivorous mammoth . One isotopic study concluded that cave bears displayed omnivorous habits similar to those of modern brown bears. Although

3036-468: The disarticulation and destruction of some cave bear skeletons. Such large carcasses were an optimal food resource for the hyenas, especially at the end of the winter, when food was scarce. The presence of fully articulated adult cave lion skeletons, deep in cave bear dens, indicates the lions may have occasionally entered dens to prey on hibernating cave bears, with some dying in the attempt. The cave bear's range stretched across Europe; from Spain and

3105-461: The holes were made by grinding the bone cortex. The edge of the holes on the Neanderthal flute differs from those on Upper Palaeolithic flutes and shows no conventional signs of human manufacture (i.e., cut marks). In addition, both ends of the Neanderthal flute show damage typical of gnawing by carnivores. Turk has published many articles rebutting the carnivore origin over the decades since the bone

3174-563: The material of two surfaces, surface hardness process, heat transfer between two surfaces and others. The resistance of materials and structures to abrasion can be measured by a variety of test methods . These often use a specified abrasive or other controlled means of abrasion. Under the conditions of the test, the results can be reported or can be compared items subjected to similar tests. Such standardized measurements can produce two quantities: abrasion rate and normalized abrasion rate (also called abrasion resistance index ). The former

3243-442: The only recorded potential carnivores suggests occasional cannibalistic scavenging, possibly on individuals that died during hibernation, and dental microwear analysis indicates the cave bear may have fed on a greater quantity of bone than its contemporary, the smaller Eurasian brown bear. The dental microwear patterns of cave bear molars from the northeastern Iberian Peninsula show that cave bears may have consumed more meat in

3312-455: The processing of tough vegetation. This allowed the cave bear to gain more energy for hibernation, while eating less than its ancestors. In 2005, scientists recovered and sequenced the nuclear DNA of a cave bear that lived between 42,000 and 44,000 years ago. The procedure used genomic DNA extracted from one of the animal's teeth . Sequencing the DNA directly (rather than first replicating it with

3381-735: The research study, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution , radiocarbon dating of the fossil remains shows that the cave bear ceased to be abundant in Central Europe around 35,000 years ago. In addition to environmental change, human hunting has also been implicated in the ultimate extinction of the cave bear. In 2019, the results of a large scale study of 81 bone specimens (resulting in 59 new sequences) and 64 previously published complete mitochondrial genomes of cave bear mitochondrial DNA remains found in Switzerland, Poland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Serbia, indicated that

3450-864: The scarcity of phosphate dung, earth from the caves where cave bear bones occurred was used as a source of phosphates. When the "dragon caves" in Austria ’s Styria region were exploited for this purpose, only the skulls and leg bones were kept. Many caves in Central Europe have skeletons of cave bears inside, such as the Heinrichshöhle in Hemer and the Dechenhöhle in Iserlohn , Germany . A complete skeleton, five complete skulls, and 18 other bones were found inside Kletno Bear Cave , in 1966 in Poland . In Romania , in

3519-428: The skeletal remains of cave bears. According to the museum's statements, the flute has been associated with the "end of the middle Pleistocene" and with Neanderthals, about 55,000 years ago. The cave site's excavation was led by Mitja Brodar from 1978 to 1986, and again from 1989 to 1995 by Ivan Turk and Janez Dirjec. The bone was discovered in a 1995 expedition led by Ivan Turk. When it was found, he proposed that it

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3588-495: The softer stone's surface. Water was continuously poured over the surface to carry away particles. Abrasive technique in stone shaping was a long, tedious process that, with patience, resulted in eternal works of art in stone. The Archard equation is a simple model used to describe sliding wear and is based on the theory of asperity contact. where: K is obtained from experimental results and depends on several parameters. Among them are surface quality, chemical affinity between

3657-424: The subject femur is the only one of 600 cave bear femurs to carry any such possible traces of human action." He concluded that "the direct evidence for human agency is, at best, highly ambiguous, and there is a lack of evidence of other possible human workmanship on the bone." An additional argument for Neanderthal construction is that the artifact itself must be a flute, having the correct shape and proportions to be

3726-432: The surface of the material that is being tested. The operator sets a pre-programmed number of passes for a repeatable and controlled result. The liquid pump can provide detergent or other liquids to the mechanical arm during testing to simulate washing and other normal uses. The use of proper lubricants can help control abrasion in some instances. Some items can be covered with an abrasion-resistant material. Controlling

3795-410: The time considered that the skeletons could belong to apes , canids , felids , or even dragons or unicorns , Esper postulated that they actually belonged to polar bears . Twenty years later, Johann Christian Rosenmüller , an anatomist at Leipzig University , gave the species its binomial name. The bones were so numerous that most researchers had little regard for them. During World War I , with

3864-430: The tonal range. The reconstructed flute has a capability of 3½ octaves . Practiced performers have demonstrated its utility as a musical instrument. According to Dimkaroski, the name "flute" is not appropriate for such an instrument, which could be considered a precursor of modern wind instruments. Since the instrument and the way it is played are not comparable to modern wind instruments, he named it TIDLDIBAB. The name

3933-461: The two complete holes (1 and 4). On the anterior side, there is a semicircular notch (5) in the broken end. According to Turk, all the holes and notches are arranged in a line and have a similar morphology, except for the larger notch 4. Proximally and distally to hole 3, a portion of the cortical bone is abraded . On this spot, a longitudinal fibrous bone structure is exposed. Near the proximal edge of hole 3, there are two parallel micro-scores on

4002-438: The understanding of their capabilities and the development of music and speech is secure. An experimental reconstruction by Ljuben Dimkaroski demonstrated that a plausible original shape of the bone can be used as a practical musical instrument (see reconstruction below). The dating of the bone, the presence of Neanderthals at the site, as well as the presence of carnivorous animals, are generally agreed upon. The primary dispute

4071-474: The years 1917 and 1923, the Drachenloch cave in Switzerland was excavated by Emil Bächler. The excavation uncovered more than 30,000 cave bear skeletons. It also uncovered a stone chest or cist , consisting of a low wall built from limestone slabs near a cave wall with a number of bear skulls inside it. A cave bear skull was also found with a femur bone from another bear stuck inside it. Scholars speculated that it

4140-400: Was a common end for cave bears, mainly befalling specimens that failed ecologically during the summer season through inexperience, sickness or old age. Some cave bear bones show signs of numerous ailments, including spinal fusion , bone tumours , cavities , tooth resorption , necrosis (particularly in younger specimens), osteomyelitis , periostitis , rickets and kidney stones . There

4209-412: Was cemented into the phosphate breccia in close proximity to the hearth. The Mousterian level containing the flute was below an Aurignacian level containing stone artefacts and osseous points of anatomically modern humans, separated by about 2m of sediment. Remains of and evidence for many types of large mammals are present at the site as well, including many carnivores which could have interacted with

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4278-419: Was either a musical artifact or a gnawed bone pierced with teeth, favouring the former. As described by Turk and his colleagues, the Neanderthal musical instrument from Divje babe I would be the oldest known musical instrument. He believes it is currently the strongest material evidence of Neanderthal musical behaviour. It is at least 10,000 years older than the earliest Aurignacian wind instruments discovered in

4347-409: Was found to contain almost exclusively a unique lineage of closely related haplotypes, indicating a homing behaviour for birthing and hibernation. The conclusion of this study is cave bears could not easily colonize new sites when in competition with humans for these resources. Overhunting by humans has been dismissed by some as human populations at the time were too small to pose a serious threat to

4416-507: Was found. In 2001, Turk's group made metal dental casts of cave bear, wolf and hyena dentition . The casts were used to pierce juvenile and adult fresh brown bear femurs. Several arguments were made: Though he argues for Neanderthal origin of the artifact, Turk presumed that the V-fracture at the proximal end is a typical carnivore damage that occurred after the flute was no longer in use. Arguments have been made by Turk and colleagues that it

4485-506: Was likely to have had some sort of ritual purpose. Reassessment of fossils in 2019 indicate that the cave bear probably died out 24,000 years ago. A complex set of factors, rather than a single factor, are suggested to have led to the extinction. Compared with other megafaunal species that also became extinct during the Last Glacial Maximum, the cave bear was believed to have had a more specialized diet of high-quality plants and

4554-424: Was not responsible. Finally, high δ N levels were found in cave bear bones from Romania , indicating wider dietary possibilities than previously believed. Some evidence indicates that the cave bear used only caves for hibernation and was not inclined to use other locations, such as thickets , for this purpose, in contrast to the more versatile brown bear . This specialized hibernation behavior would have caused

4623-466: Was proof of prehistoric human religious rites involving the cave bear, or that the Drachenloch cave bears were hunted as part of a hunting ritual, or that the skulls were kept as trophies. In Archaeology, Religion, Ritual (2004), archaeologist Timothy Insoll strongly questions whether the Drachenloch finds in the stone cist were the result of human interaction. Insoll states that the evidence for religious practices involving cave bears in this time period

4692-478: Was to the American black bear , but had split from the brown bear lineage before the distinct eastern and western brown bear lineages diversified, and before the split of brown bears and polar bears. The divergence date estimate of cave bears and brown bears is about 1.2–1.4 Mya. However, a recent study showed that both species had some hybridization between them. The cave bear had a very broad, domed skull with

4761-683: Was too short to play those four holes in tune to any diatonic series of tones and half-tones, as proposed by Fink. Blake Edgar (1998) wrote in California Wild: [Nowell] along with archeologist Philip Chase, had serious doubts as soon as they saw photos of the bone on the Internet. ... The Divje Babe bone bears some resemblance to the dozens of younger, uncontested bone flutes from European Upper Paleolithic sites. But, says Nowell, these obvious flutes are longer, have more holes, and exhibit telltale tool marks left from their manufacture. No such marks occur on

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