Notes
1.We will limit ourselves in the rest of the text to the European Paleolithic,which,because
of a long tradition of archeological research,is relatively well known.
2.Preliminary dating by electron spin resonance gave a range for layer 13 from c.34,000
to c.88,000 years (Lau et al.1997:table 4).New datings are being prepared.
3.Preliminary electron spin resonance dating of layer 20 showed that the layer is only
from c.38,000 to c.49,000 years old (Lau et al.1997:table 4),which is undoubtedly too
young.
4.No find of a skeleton of a completely modern human in Europe is older than 35,000
years (Allsworth-Jones 1986:217;Heiss 1994).
5.Carnivores usually made such damage (notches) on the thinner,anterior side of bone,
as seen in numerous examples from the site.We must stress that the unusual location of
the notch on the flatter posterior side bone is appropriate for the mouthpiece of the flute.
6.Strength was measured at the Laboratory of Non-linear Mechanics,Faculty of Mechan-
ical Engineering in Ljubljana using steel points,bronze casts of wolf and hyena dentition,
and fresh thigh bones of brown bear.In widening the experimental holes to the size of
those on the suspected flute,exerting the same force as for piercing,all juvenile bones
cracked.We thank Professors J.Grum and F.Kosel for their help.
7.Elder appears only among pollen in one case at the Divje babe I site,which proves its
presence in the period of the Middle Paleolithic in Slovenia (Sˇercelj and Culiberg 1991).
8.Sound can also be produced with only partly or poorly removed spongiosa of both fresh
and fossil bones.
9.If we envisage an open flute,it is necessary to remove both epiphyses.It is most suit-
able and simplest to remove the epiphysis at the transition to the diaphysis,where bone
widens and its wall is thinner,since trabecular bone can be fairly easily removed there to
obtain the necessary hollow pipe.In the case of a closed flute,only one epiphysis need
be removed.However,despite considerable external changes,the cavity of the pipe in the
bone is not increased (perhaps even shortened),since at the metaphysis,spongiosa fills the
cavity.This also appeared in the reconstructions.
10.Even today with many folk instruments,players do not exploit all the theoretical and
practical sound possibilities of instruments,but restrict themselves to a relatively narrow
tonal range that is entirely sufficient for them (see Strajnar 1988).Thus the tonal possibil-
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