tion,such carnivores in cave dens were at least as active on bones,if not
more so,than people in cave dwellings or shelters.
How likely it is that the holes in the bone were made by people is hard
to estimate.However,for several reasons this find may,for the moment,
be the only object of its kind.First,most Paleolithic sites throughout the
world contain almost exclusively durable stone tools and waste created
in their manufacture.Very few or none contain the less-durable or non-
durable products for which, among other things,these tools were
intended.Second,considerable time passes from the “invention”of some
product to its general distribution and use;in the Paleolithic,in certain
cases this lasted some tens of thousands of years.Third,archeology has
very little chance of discovering the origin of anything (e.g.,instrumen-
tal music) if such beginnings are restricted to a fraction of the huge space
and time dimension,which it masters poorly anyway.Fourth,great
danger exists that we overlook or mistakenly evaluate weak archeolog-
ical signals because we do not want to reject generally accepted method-
ologies and seek new ones,and because we do not want to accept results
of unproved methodologies.
It is quite clear that the enormous mass of Paleolithic stone tools were
intended not only for hunting and collecting food,but also for manu-
facturing other accessories that served various purposes.The few very
old spears from yew wood that were preserved are sufficient evidence of
this (Oakley et al.1977;Thieme and Veil 1985;McNabb 1989;Thieme
1996).In two hearths in Divje babe I,and only in Slovenia,we also found
charcoal from yew in addition to more common charcoal.Yew wood
probably did not serve as normal fuel,but is more likely to have been
burned trimmings that were created during the production of unknown
products,perhaps spears (Culiberg and Sˇercelj 1997).Most other prod-
ucts,including flutes,could also have been of wood.The wood of the
elder is very suitable for flutes because of its large pith cavity.In the Epi-
gravettian layer of the site at Jama v Lozi in western Slovenia,among
the charcoal was found an 8-mm-long piece of elderwood charcoal with
the pith cavity preserved (Sˇercelj and Culiberg 1985:60).This is the only
example of such charcoal in Paleolithic sites in Slovenia.^7 Like yew,elder-
wood is an unusual fuel.It cannot be excluded that in this case,too,it
is the remains of wood as a raw material and not as fuel.Why would
someone go to the effort of making something from bone and similar
raw materials if it could be made from wood? Bone,although more
durable,is more difficult to work with and the desired result would,at
least initially,be an exceptional occurrence!
Gradually,these exceptions would become more frequent in a specific
cultural center and natural environment.Only then would archeology
suddenly note and recognize an object that had been in use for a long247 New Perspectives on the Beginnings of Music