Title: Neanderthal flute
First published: 1997
Description: This book is an analysis of the bone found at Divje Babe site in Slovenia. It claims the bone is a flute with 4 holes, all lined up in a row, all near-equal diameters, and spaced in the same unique spacing found on any standard "do-re-mi" or diatonic scale flute. It plays the tones do, re, mi and fa. The book has diagrams and measurements designed to prove the case presented. There is a huge discussion portion appended quoting, unedited, the views of all the many leading archaeologists and musicologists and laypersons who wrote in (up to the date of publication), debating the pros and cons of whether this object is a flute. Some view the object as an "accident" resembling a flute, but the holes are claimed bitten by chance, one at a time (as all sides agree), but which lined up matching  a world-wide found scale formation. There is evidence presented as to the other aspects of the flute, and the reader can learn, if not the outcome of the debate, at least the nature of scientific debate. The book is written in plain English, with many scientific terms easily understood in their context. The authior, Bob Fink, concludes it is the oldeast known musical instrument. The remainder of the debate is found at the website of the full text of the book at http://www.greenwych.ca/fl-compl.htm .
Subjects: Bone flute, Bone implements, Oldest known musical instrumemt, Prehistoric, Music archaeology, Musical instruments, Prehistoric, Musical intervals and scales, Prehistoric Bone implements, Earliest diatonic sequence, Prehistoric Musical instruments, Bone implements, Music and anthropology, Flute, History, Neanderthals, Instruments de musique préhistoriques, Outils d'os
Places: Divje Babe I Cave (Slovenia), Slovenia
LC classification: ML990.B66 F56 1997