Divje Babe flute

The Divje Babe flute is a cave bear femur pierced by spaced holes. It is around 60,000 years old. Some scientists think it is a flute, created by Neanderthals. This would make it the oldest known musical instrument in human history.Omerzel-Terlep, Mira. "Koščene piščali: pričetek slovenske, evropske in svetovne instrumentalne glasbene zgodovine" [Bone flutes: Beginning of the history of the instrumental music in Slovenia, Europe, and world] (PDF). Etnolog (in Slovenian): 292. ISSN 0354-0316. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-04-04.

The artifact is nicknamed the Neanderthal flute. It was found in Slovenia in 1985.Turk, I., Dirjec, J., Kavur, B. 1995, The oldest musical instrument in Europe discovered in Slovenia? Razprave 4. Razreda Sazu 36, 287–293.

According to the National Museum of Slovenia:It is about 20,000 years older than other known flutes, made by anatomically modern humans. This discovery confirms that the Neanderthals were, like us, fully developed spiritual beings capable of sophisticated artistic expression.

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