The Divje Babe flute, also called tidldibab, is a cave bear bone with holes that are spaced apart. It was discovered in 1995 during careful archaeological digs led by the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts near Cerkno in northwestern Slovenia. Some scientists believe it was made by Neanderthals as a musical instrument and call it the Neanderthal flute. It is displayed in the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana and is considered the world's oldest known musical instrument.

This claim has caused strong disagreement among scientists. No other Neanderthal musical instruments have been found, and such a discovery from the Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) period might suggest that Neanderthals had symbolic behavior that was previously unknown.

Site

The site is a horizontal cave that is 45 meters (148 feet) long and up to 15 meters (49 feet) wide. It is located 230 meters (750 feet) above the Idrijca River near Cerkno and is open to visitors. Scientists who studied the site found more than 600 archaeological items in at least ten layers, including twenty fire pits and the bones of cave bears. The museum says the flute is linked to the end of the middle Pleistocene era and to Neanderthals, about 55,000 years ago. The excavation of the cave was led by Mitja Brodar from 1978 to 1986, and later by Ivan Turk and Janez Dirjec from 1989 to 1995.

Neanderthal flute

In 1995, during an expedition led by Ivan Turk, a bone was discovered. Turk suggested that the bone might be a musical artifact or a gnawed bone with tooth marks, but he believed it was more likely a musical instrument.

Turk and his colleagues described the bone as the oldest known musical instrument made by Neanderthals, called the Divje Babe I flute. He stated this is the strongest evidence of Neanderthal musical behavior. This instrument is at least 10,000 years older than the earliest Aurignacian wind instruments found in German caves like Hohle Fels, Geißenklösterle, and Vogelherd. The bone is currently displayed at the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana.

Some people debate whether the bone is a Neanderthal-made flute. Many argue the holes were not made by humans but by animals. Archeologist Mitja Brodar, who studied the site before Turk, doubted the bone was made by Neanderthals. Others suggest the holes could have been created by animals chewing the bone, possibly carnivores.

The National Museum of Slovenia claims that evidence from 2005 proved the bone was not damaged by a bear bite. It states that Neanderthals made the flute and that this discovery is important for understanding their abilities and the development of music and speech. An experiment by Ljuben Dimkaroski showed that the bone’s original shape could be used as a musical instrument.

The bone is 11.4 cm long and is the left femur of a young cave bear cub. On the back side, there are two complete holes and two semicircular notches. On the front side, there is one semicircular notch near a broken end. Turk noted that all holes and notches are lined up, except for the larger notch.

Near the holes, some of the bone’s outer layer is worn away, revealing a fibrous structure. Inside the bone’s hollow center, the edges of the holes show damage typical of piercing, but notch 4 does not. A V-shaped crack is on the bone’s back side, and Turk believed this could be a mouthpiece. A similar crack on the front side was thought to be a thumb hole for the flute.

The flute was found in the Mousterian layer, which contains stone tools and hearths. It is located near a hearth and below an Aurignacian layer with tools from modern humans. The site also has remains of many large mammals, including carnivores.

Radiocarbon dating of the hearth’s charcoal first estimated the flute’s age as 43,100 ± 700 years. Later, ESR dating showed the flute is between 50,000 and 60,000 years old.

Some argue the holes were made by animals chewing the bone, not humans. Other ancient flutes made from mammal bones have clear signs of human tool use, like carved or drilled holes. The Neanderthal flute has no such marks, and both ends show damage typical of animal gnawing.

Turk has written many articles arguing the bone was made by Neanderthals. In 2001, his team used casts of animal teeth to pierce bear bones, comparing the damage to the flute. Turk suggested the V-shaped crack at one end might have been caused by an animal after the flute was no longer in use.

Stone tools suitable for piercing bone were found in the Mousterian layers at Divje Babe I. Some bone tools were also discovered there.

Iain Morley (2006) questioned Turk’s findings, noting that only one of 600 cave bear femurs showed possible human activity. He said evidence for human involvement is unclear.

Turk and his team argued the bone’s shape and size could make it a flute. Some believe the notches at the ends might indicate four or five holes.

Bob Fink (1997) claimed the bone’s holes matched the spacing of four notes in a diatonic scale. He later suggested the bone might have been extended with another piece.

Nowell and Chase argued the bone was too short to produce those notes. Blake Edgar (1998) wrote that the bone resembles other flutes but lacks the tool marks found on other ancient flutes.