Some observations on the supposed natural origin of the Divje babe I flute

Abstract

The perforated bear femur discovered in the Divje babe I cave in Slovenia is probably one of the most debated Mousterian discoveries. Because the disposition of perforations makes it look like a flute, many researchers tried to find explanations as to how these perforations were made and a large number of studies have focused on demonstrating the natural character of perforations. Our paper present the route of this discovery reflected in studies with greater impact, as well as our observations after reviewing such studies. In the multitude of articles aiming at demonstrating the natural character of the flute, no bone with perforations has been proven to be similar to the Divje babe I one up to this moment. It seems that the possibility of the holes having been made by carnivores is even more difficult to demonstrate than the anthropic origin of the holes, even in the absence of visible tool marks.

Full text

Ministère de l’Education Nationale
L’Université Valahia Târgovişte
Faculté de Sciences Humaines
D’UNIVERSITÉ VALAHIA
TARGOVISTE
SECTION
d’Archéologie et d’Histoire
TOME XVII
Numéro 2
2015
Valahia University Press
Valahia University PressValahia University Press
Valahia University Press
Târgovişte

Annales d’Université Valahia Targoviste Section d’Archéologie et d’Histoire publie des mémoires
originaux, des nouvelles et des comptes-rendus dans le domaine de l’archéologie préhistorique, de
l’histoire du moyen âge, de l’environnement de l’homme fossile, de l’archéologie interdisciplinaire et
de patrimoine culturel.
Rédacteur en chef:
prof. univ. dr. Marin Cârciumaru
Secrétaire général de rédaction:
C.S.II dr. Elena-Cristina Niţu
Secrétariat de rédaction:
prof. univ. dr. Ioan Opriş, conf. univ. dr. Corneliu Beldiman
,
dr. Denis Căprăroiu, dr. Radu
Cârciumaru, dr. Monica Mărgărit, dr. Marian Cosac, dr. Roxana Dobrescu, dr. Ovidiu Cîrstina, , dr.
Daniela Iamandi, dr. Adina Elena Boroneanţ.
Comité de rédaction:
prof. dr. Eric Boëda, prof. Marcel Otte, prof. dr. Răzvan Theodorescu, prof. dr. Victor Spinei, prof. dr.
Sabin Adrian Luca, prof. dr. Gheorghe Lazarovici, dr Marylène Patou-Mathis, dr Marie-Hélène
Moncel, dr. Cristian Schuster, dr. Dragomir Nicolae Popovici, dr. Adrian Bălăşescu,
Correspondants:
Prof. Jacques Jaubert, prof. Jean-Philippe Rigaud, prof. Árpád Ringer, prof. Alain Tuffreau,
dr.
Aline Averbouh,
dr. Alain Turq, prof. Ivor Iancovič, prof. Ivor Karavanič,
dr.
Eugen Nicolae, dr. Emilian Alexandrescu, dr. Sergiu Iosipescu
Technorédacteurs:
drd. Remus Constantin Dumitru Dincă, Florin Ionuț Lupu
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ISSN: 1584-1855; ISSN (online): 2285–3669

Sommaire
ARTICLES ET ÉTUDES
MARIN CARCIUMARU, ELENA-CRISTINA NIȚU, ADRIAN NICOLAE, FLORIN IONUȚ LUPU,
REMUS DINCA, CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNDERSTANDING THE NEANDERTHALS
SYMBOLISM. EXAMPLES FROM THE MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC IN ROMANIA...............7
ELENA-CRISTINA NIȚU, SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUPPOSED NATURAL ORIGIN
OF THE DIVJE BABE I FLUTE..............................................................................................33
NOTES ET DISCUSSIONS
ADRIAN NICOLAE, THE MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC ANTHROPOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN
THE 19TH CENTURY……………………………………………………………………….
47
REMUS DINCĂ, HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC RESEARCH ON
BISTRIȚA VALLEY (NORTH-EASTERN ROMANIA)...........................................................
57
COCONEŢU ION, DU DIOCESE DE SEVERIN DU DIOCESE DE RAMNICUL - LE NOUVEAU
DE SEVERIN………………………………………………………………………………...
69
NORME DE REDACTARE
............................................................................................................................ 79
PRINTING NORMES
..................................................................................................................................... 83
CERTIFICATIONS POUR INCLURE ANNALES D'UNIVERSITÉ VALAHIA TARGOVISTE,
SECTION D'ARHÉOLOGIE ET D'HISTOIRE DANS UNE SÉRIE DE BASES DE DONNÉES
... 87

Annales d’Université Valahia Targoviste,
Section d’Archéologie et d’Histoire,
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015, p. 33-44
ISSN: 1584-1855;
ISSN (online): 2285–3669
Some observations on the supposed natural origin of the Divje babe I flute
Elena-Cristina Nițu*
*“Princely Court” National Museum Târgovişte, Museum of Human Evolution and Technology in Palaeolithic, 4
Stelea Street, Târgovişte 130018, Dâmboviţa County, Romania, email: elenacristinanitu@yahoo.com
Abstract: The perforated bear femur discovered in the Divje babe I cave in Slovenia is probably one of the most
debated Mousterian discoveries. Because the disposition of perforations makes it look like a flute, many researchers
tried to find explanations as to how these perforations were made and a large number of studies have focused on
demonstrating the natural character of perforations. Our paper present the route of this discovery reflected in studies
with greater impact, as well as our observations after reviewing such studies. In the multitude of articles aiming at
demonstrating the natural character of the flute, no bone with perforations has been proven to be similar to the Divje
babe I one up to this moment. It seems that the possibility of the holes having been made by carnivores is even more
difficult to demonstrate than the anthropic origin of the holes, even in the absence of visible tool marks.
Keywords: Neanderthal, Slovenia, flute, perforations
Introduction
Unlike Upper Paleolithic objects, all and any
presumed symbolical discovery found in
Mousterian sites or all any other objects which
may bring new contributions in terms of cognitive
capacities of the Neanderthals, requires more
profound and more rigorous demonstrations so as
to be recognized by the scientific community. Up
to a certain point, this type of approach is very
beneficial for the archeological research, especially
when there are rigorous and scientific
demonstrations which trigger logical
argumentations. However, there are cases when
discussions may take very long time frames as they
are fueled by theories which are more or less
documented. The most debated Mousterian
discovery, as early as its publication, is probably a
fragment of a perforated bear femur discovered in
the Divje babe I cave in Slovenia (I. Turk, 1997 a).
According to morphological characteristics, the
disposition of perforations makes it look like a
flute while its publication as possibly being the
oldest Paleolithic flute encouraged an impressive
number of researchers to find explanations as to
how these perforations were made. Twenty years
have passed since this discovery, a remarkable
number of papers have been published and this
endeavor seems to continue for a long time going
forward.
As this is a singular discovery for the Middle
Paleolithic (all flutes accepted by the scientific
community are considered to fall within the Upper
Paleolithic), the regularity of the perforations and
the quite interesting morphology required as
detailed explanations as possible with a view to
their ascribing to an anthropic action. As the
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Elena-Cristina Nițu
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
author of this discovery I. Turk emphasized,
identification of some trenchant arguments on
the flute being made by the Neanderthals or its
origin going back to natural phenomena is an
extremely difficult undertaking due to lack of
traces made by stone tools, as in the case of
flutes discovered in the Upper Paleolithic (I.
Turk, 1997 a). As anticipated, rather a large
number of studies have focused on
demonstrating the non-anthropic character of
perforations, so that soon after discovering the
presumed flute, in several papers have been
invoked deposit taphonomy issues (Ph. Chase,
A. Nowell, 1998), contestation of Mousterian
character of the discovery (F. D’Errico et al.,
1998 a, p. 77; M. Brodar, 1999; C. G. Dietrich,
2015), and especially the action of carnivores on
the bone (Albrech at al., 1998, 2001; F. D’Errico
et al., 1998 a, b, 2003; Ph. Chase, A. Nowell,
1998; C. S. Holdermann, J. Serangeli, 1998; C.
G. Dietrich, 2015). Under the premise that one
cannot project our modern perceptions on the
character of some Mousterian artefacts, which
belong to another human species, the
Neanderthals, our study will not give attention to
the significance of the object, even though many
analyses have been made so as to demonstrate
the musical potential of the discovery (D. Kunej,
1997; D. Kunej, I. Turk, 2000; M. Turk, L.
Dimkaroski, 2011; L. Dimkaroski, 2014; F. Z.
Horusitzky, 2014). If one takes account of the
number, morphology and position of
perforations, the artefact is very similar to a
musical instrument, a flute. However, for the
Mousterian communities, this may have
different, symbolic or utilitarian meanings. The
debates on the object are highly interesting, and
their evolution has to be seen chronologically,
starting from the first publications on the
discovery and the reactions aroused in the
literature and going on with highlighting new
information revealed by analyses progressively
conducted after the discovery. Our aim is not to
exhaustively summarize all bibliographic
sources, mainly because the literature is
extremely rich and would take too much space
for an article, but to present the route of this
discovery reflected in studies with greater
impact, as well as our observations after
reviewing such studies.
Short Presentation of the main information
regarding this discovery and their impact on
literature
In 1997, I. Turk edited an extensive
monographic work on the stage of researches
carried out in the Divje babe I cave, located in
Reka, Western Slovenia, on the bank of the Idrijca
River (I. Turk, 1997a). The first excavations were
made by Mitja Brodar in 1978 and 1980-1986 at
the cave entrance, the sections amounting to
approximately 130 m³, and they were continued by
I. Turk and J. Dirjec starting from 1989 (200 m³ in
the center of the cave) (I. Turk, 1997a, D. Kunez, I.
Turk, 2000). The so-called flute was discovered in
layer 8 during an archeological campaign in 1995
(fig. 1), layer which was not dug in full before the
publication of the work mentioned, only its upper
part being completed. The section dug was located
in the central part of the cave where excavations
will continue in the following years, until 1999 (I.
Turk et al., 2001).
According to I. Turk (1997b), level 8
distinguishes very well from the other layers as it
is strongly cemented and impregnated with carbon-
phosphates which form a breccia. Upon discovery,
the flute was caught in this breccia. Almost all
bones in the layer were horizontally oriented and
no traces of cryoturbation were observed. As for
their surface, one must state that they are strongly
weathered, brittle and more often leached (I. Turk
et al., 1997b; Kunez, I. Turk, 2000). For this layer
there have been published four absolute dating
which situate it at around 43,000 B.P. (D. Erle
Nelson, 1997). With regards to archeological
discoveries, the flute was found in an area with few
tools, close to a fireplace.
The context of the discovery is quite clear and
we will insist on it precisely because there have
been many studies which referred to this aspect as
constituting a problem (F. D’Errico et al., 1998 a;
M. Brodar, 1999; C. Dietrich, 2015). The flute was
discovered near a fireplace located in quadrat 20,
spit 19 (fig. 1); the earth around it contained ashes
and coal traces. It was found at a depth of 261 cm,
located at 12-24 cm inside the breccia, and the
author suggested that its contemporaneousness
with the fireplace cannot be excluded (I. Turk, B.
Kavur, 1997). Nevertheless, the discovery is well
recorded similarly to all other objects found in the
central excavation of the cave. This is easy to
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Some observations on the supposed natural origin of the Divje babe I flute
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
notice in the latest synthesis published under the
coordination of the discoverer (I. Turk, 2007,
2014a). There are tables with descriptions of each
object found in the site. Both the flute and other
lithic objects were found at the same depth,
whereas in level D1 (corresponding to layer 8),
along with the flute, other 19 lithic objects were
found, of which two cores and several flakes (J.
Turk et al., 2014, tab. 4.1, p. 49; M. Turk, I. Turk,
2014, tab 5.7, p. 71). The whole sediment in the
central part of the cave was sieved with water
using sieves of different sizes (I. Turj, J. Dirjec,
1997; I. Turk, 2007, 2014a). Identification was
made of 26 layers in total, and upon excavation
completion the bedrock was not reached. Of all
these layers only 2 and 3 are Aurignacian, the rest
are classified as Mousterian (D. Kunez, I. Turk,
2000).
Fig. 1 –Divje Babe I flute images and the hearth beside the flute was discovered (after I. Turk, 1997, figs.
11.1 and 10.10)
The flute is made on a fragment of a cave bear
cub diaphysis. Its surface is slightly altered, the
extremities are broken in and the fractures are
smooth and rounded, similar to most bones at the
site (I. Turk et al., 1997). The special quality of the
object is rendered by two well visible perforations
on one side, located rather interestingly in the core
of the bone and positioned lineally. Other two
fragmented perforations located on the same
surface as the ones already described, as well as a
perforation located on the opposite side, complete
the morphology of the object. Upon its removal
from the breccia it was slightly affected and an
exfoliation is therefore visible on the proximal side
(I. Turk et al., 1997). One has to highlight the fact
that the author of the discovery does not firmly
support the anthropic origin of the holes; on the
contrary, he tries to find explanations for their
origin and also alleges the action of the carnivores.
Therefore, as early as the first publications,
explanations are given as to the fact that the
taphonomic analysis of the bear limbs in the
central part of the cave showed the carnivores’
action on them. The percentage of the bones
having gnawing traces is significant, the bear cubs’
femurs being the most affected. Moreover, most
holes and indentations are found on femurs as well
(I. Turk, J. Dirjec, 1997).
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Elena-Cristina Nițu
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
The flute benefits by a detailed description.
One may notice post-depositional phenomena
which destroyed potential traces required to
identify how the holes were made. Therefore, on
the front side there are some indentations and some
shallow “cuts” of which origin is difficult to
identify due to a poor preservation; the front side is
speckled as a consequence of the impregnation
with carbon-phosphates; the inside of the bone is
hollow, the medullar cavity has the same color as
the outside, which implies the disappearance of the
spongy tissue prior to impregnation with carbon-
phosphates (I. Turk, J. Dirjec, B. Kavur, 1997).
Taking into consideration that the bone keeps
neither traces of holes nor of spongy tissue
removal, analysis is also made of animals which
may have perforated the bone, perforations most
likely made by molars or premolars of carnivores,
such as wolves or hyenas, (I. Turk, J. Dirjec, B.
Kavur, 1997). However, the authors of the study
are rather cautious in terms of ascribing the holes
to an anthropic action. Thus, they end chapter 11
of the first synthesis stating that both variants, i.e.
man and animals, have to be considered:
“Nevertheless, the pierced femur is the only
example among 600 femurs of juvenile cave bears
found at the site in the course of excavations” (I.
Turk et al., 1997, p. 175).
Considering this information in relation to
which one may easily observe the balanced
character of descriptions and the caution of the
authors, who use the expression suspected bone
flute in the paper published in 1997 and dedicate a
large space to the object description and the
hypotheses on the descent of the holes, a surge in
demonstrations regarding the non-antropic nature
of the perforations occurred soon after the
presentation of the discovery. The significant
number as well as the categorical nature of the
demonstrations generated such a strong echo that I.
Turk and his collaborators’ later analyses were
either ignored (most times) or minimized.
The first criticizing studies were published by
F. D’Errico and his collaborators in two articles (F.
D’Errico et al., 1998 a, b); in both of them the
conclusions were the same, i.e. the holes were
made by carnivores. The analysis of the authors
cited above is based on the comparison of the
Divje babe discovery to faunistic materials
originated in sites without material culture, namely
two caves in Spain, Arrikrutz and Troskaeta. Of
the bones analyzed, 99 fragments have holes
indicating carnivores’ actions, some of them
having two or more holes. A perforation in a bear
skull at Lezctxiki, discovered in a Mousterian
level, is compared to traces found on the bones in
the two sites without material culture, while results
demonstrate that they are the result of the action of
carnivores. The study of the bone fragments also
implied microscopic analyses as well as a record of
bone holes depending on their number and the
anatomic elements on which they were identified.
The conclusion is that the morphology, the sizes
and the holes on the flute are similar to the ones
observed on the fauna in the sites uninhabited by
people and, correlated with the lack of tool marks,
they represent proofs for their natural descent.
However, the analysis of the bones in the two
studies, also reflected in the graphics published,
makes no references to important aspects defining
the flute: alignment of holes and their position. In
both articles, the perforations are presented yet not
located on the surface of the bones. What we find
reveling are the examples of bones with holes
offered in the graphics of the articles (F. d’Errico
et al., 1998 a, b), which we suspect to be the most
suggestive examples found by the authors in the
fauna analyzed: there is no example of two-
middle-hole femur or another type of similar bone
(fig. 2/1). In addition, in the examples given, not
all traces are holes, part of them being mere
indentations. The only demonstration which may
be associated to the articles is that some carnivores
may produce holes on bones, which is not
necessarily a new fact. As for cultural
classification, they explain that the spatial and
stratigraphic position do not represent proofs of the
flute being of the same period with the fireplace
close to it or the objects found (F. d’Errico et al.,
1998 b). This aspect has to be explained by type of
site, sedimentation process and duration of living
there; the cave was visited only seasonally by
human communities. This is the reason why the
number of tools found is not very large; however,
the impossibility to prove their
contemporaneousness does not necessarily mean
that there is no connection between them.
Ascribing the holes on the femur in Divje
babe I to the action of carnivores was approached
in several articles, some published in 1998, soon
after the discovery was introduced in the scientific
circuit, yet the microscopic observations from F.
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Some observations on the supposed natural origin of the Divje babe I flute
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
D’Errico and collaborators’ studies are missing in
these articles (1998 a, b, 2003). Publications of Ph. Chase and A. Nowell (1998), Albreht et al. (1998,
2001), C. S. Holderman și J. Serengeli (1998), and
Fig. 2 - Examples of bear femurs with holes provided as an argument for carnivores intervention: 1-
Troskaeta, after F. D’Errico et al., 1998 b, fig. 4; 2-Lieglloch, after G. Albrecht et al., 1998, fig. 4; 3 –
National Museum of Slovenia, after I. Turk et al., 2014, fig. 13.1; 4a, Peștera cu Oase, after C. Dietrich,
2015, fig. 5/5; 4b-Peștera cu Oase, after M. Pacher, J. Quilès, 2013, fig. 12.7/g (different scales).
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Elena-Cristina Nițu
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
I. Morley (2003, 2006) are also critical, there are
few elements which distinguish these studies.
Given the similitude of the demonstrations and
particularly the similar conclusions, i.e. the origin
of the holes in relation to carnivores’ actions, we
will insist only on some articles, especially
because, after their publication, some specialists
have offered extensive answers in this respect (M.
Otte, 2000; F. Horusitzki, 2003; I. Turk, 2014a).
Ph. Chase and A. Nowell (1998) explain the
regularity of the holes by destructions occurred in
the deposit, assuming that the post-depositional
processes increased them. They conclude that the
discovery is a bone chewed by carnivores and,
being the only Mousterian discovery of this type, it
does not provide solid evidence in favor of the
music origin of that time (Certainly, taken alone,
in the absence of any other Mousterian flutes, this
specimen provides very weak evidence for the
origins of music at that time (p. 552). Actually,
many other studies on flutes mentioned that there
is no other similar object discovered in Middle
Paleolithic. What is constantly overlooked is the
fact that neither among the examples of
perforations made by animals is there any bone
similar to the flute. Taking into account that the
carnivores were certainly more numerous than the
Neanderthals, if the perforations on the flute had
indeed been the result of a natural behavior of
carnivores, numerous bones similar to the flute
should have been found; however, no similar
example is given (fig. 2). Ph. Chase and A.
Nowell’s study (1998) is rather harshly criticized
by M. Otte (2000) who considers that the
discovery was handled a priori, being questionable
and doubtful, and such endeavor is inappropriate.
G. Albreht and collaborators (1998, 2001)
also try to explain the position of the holes in the
middle of the bone as a consequence of carnivores’
behavior, carnivores which pierce the thinner area
of bone (fig. 2/2). Some bones are thinner on their
length axis and this is why some holes are
positioned in line. In this respect he gives the
example of a rib discovered in the Ramesh cave,
which has several holes in the middle (Albrech et
al., 1998, fig. 3/5, p. 7; fig. 5, p. 9). However, these
holes are of different sizes on both sides and there
are traces of destruction around them, having
therefore extremely little resemblance to the bone
in Slovenia. Compared to other criticizing studies,
a different element is constituted by G. Albrecht
and collaborators’ experiments on the methods of
perforation (Albrech et al., 1998). Starting from the
ascertainment that the holes were most likely made
by a hyena, a rather bizarre image of a hyena skull
keeping a femur in its mouth is offered; in this
image one may easily see how difficult it would
have been for an animal to position the bone and
therefore create holes (Albrech et al., 1998, fig. 14,
p. 16). Similar to Ph. Chase and A. Nowell’s study
(1998), statements are made that there are no
similar objects discovered in Middle Paleolithic so
as to authenticate the discovery (there is no
verified cave bear bone flute, which could serve as
an authentication of the object from Divje babe I.
Furthermore, at the moment there is no even
another known flute from other Middle Paleolithic
made of other materials (p. 12)).
There were also debates on the human type
which made the flute; in this regard, M. Brodar
(1999) alleges that the modern man lived in the
cave before the disappearance of the Neanderthals,
since four bone point fragments were found in the
Mousterian layers and the flute has to be therefore
ascribed to Homo sapiens.
After this first stage with numerous criticisms,
there came a period in which they diminished;
however, the impact left in the literature was quite
strong; so every time the Divje babe I discovery is
mentioned, the criticizing comments in the studies
are also added (not to mention that it was rather the
criticisms in particular that were mentioned). What
changed in publications was the multiplication of
bone analyses made by I. Turk and his
collaborators (D. Kunej, I. Turk, 2000; I. Turk,
2007, 2014a, b; I. Turk et al, 2001, 2003, 2005; M.
Turk, L. Dimkaroski, 2011; Tuniz et al., 2012).
There is a remarkable difference with regards to
how this subject is approached: even though the
rather negative criticizing studies do not
necessarily introduce a convincing demonstration,
they tried to demonstrate mainly the animals’
intervention on the bone, by identification of some
bone examples, while I. Turk and his
collaborators’ studies analyzed both anthropic and
natural possibilities; their articles are supported by
various experiments (I. Turk et al., 2001) and
analyses conducted with modern equipment (I.
Turk et al., 2005, Tuniz et al., 2012)
As a response to the first negative articles
published on the discovery, two thorough studies
are published on the taphonomy of the deposit and
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Some observations on the supposed natural origin of the Divje babe I flute
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
the fauna in the site, especially because in the
meantime layer 8 in which the flute was discovered
was excavated in full in the central part of the cave
(Kunez D., Turk I., 2000; I. Turk et al. 2001).
Thus, after the fauna was studied, statement was
made that out of the 600 bear cub femurs, only 10
have approximately the same size as the flute, and
of these 10 only one is perforated in the center and
on both sides; the others have no holes. As regards
to the extremities of the flute which were chewed
by carnivores, one may not assume the exact date
of this action, after or before the holes were made,
or at the same time (Kunez D., Turk I., 2000). As
far as traces left by carnivores and weathering are
concerned, it is specified that these agents are not
the ones to have made the flute but rather have
transformed it (Turk et al. 2001). Detailed
descriptions are made of the experiments carried
out with dentition replicas of possible carnivores
which may have produced such holes (wolf, hyena,
bear skull moulds). I. Turk and collaborators
(2001) concluded that the perforations were made
separately, not at the same time; figure 14, p. 37,
even shows an interesting sketch of the animals’
teeth which may have produced the holes, namely
hyena and wolf molars and premolars, as well as
the morphology of these holes. The authors rightly
wonder why a carnivore stopped after making the
holes, since the purpose was to break the bone and
reach the marrow, and, after making several
perforations, very little was left to chew before the
bone was destroyed. The tests made indicated that
in most cases the holes appear on the convex side
of the bones, not on the right side, as in case of the
flute (I. Turk et al. 2001). Taking account of the
experiments conducted, they consider that it was
unlikely that a carnivore made one or more holes
without breaking the bone: The probability that an
undetermined carnivore pierced a bone several
times and gave it the coincidental form of a flute
without fragmenting it into pieces is very small. If
this probability were greater, it is likely that there
would have been more such finds, since there were
at least as many beasts of prey in the middle
Paleolithic as people (Kunez D., Turk I., 2000, p.
246).
Nonetheless, the analyses made progressively
by the discoverer and his team were neglected by
some authors. These two studies described above,
appeared in 2000 and 2001, are completely ignored
in an article published in 2003 by F. d’Errico and
his collaborators (d’Errico et al., 2003), who
continue the undertaking started and analyze,
microscopically included, the flute and the 77
perforated bones discovered in Divje babe and
other four sites in Slovenia. The results indicate
that the holes were made by carnivores because the
bones analyzed have various traces of animals’
actions. As much as in the previous articles (F.
D’Errico et al., 1998a, b), despite the specification
that there are bones with two or several holes of
similar morphology and sizes as in the case of the
flute, the authors do not insist on placing the holes
on the bone (epiphysis and diaphysis) area.
However, stating that there are many holes on the
Divje babe bones comes in contradiction with what
I. Turk and collaborators (2001) had already put
out about holes missing in the fauna analyzed. In
this respect, I. Turk (2014a) assumes that F.
d’Errico and collaborators (d’Errico et al., 2003)
took notice of the punctures marks on the bones as
well. Similarly to the first articles published and
looking at the picture enclosed, we also are of the
opinion that a difference between holes and
punctures marks has not been made.
A synthesis of the contributions on the
discovery from Divje babe I is published by I.
Morley in 2006. As it is only a republication of a
study from 2003, the information was not updated
and we are provided with a truncated image of the
phenomenon since no notice was taken of articles
put out by I. Turk and collaborators (evidently, he
also supports the idea that the perforations were
not made by carnivores).
Except experiments involving moulds of
carnivores’ skulls, the author of the discovery
conducts multiple experiments so as to identify
possible methods to produce holes by people, holes
which are similar to the flute holes. The best
results were obtained by combining several
technical produces (I. Turk et al., 2003). The
attempt to identify possible traces and thus to
prove the most exact origin of the perforations is
carried on using modern equipment. To this end, in
addition to microscopic studies, the flute is
analyzed with Multi Slice Computed Tomography
(MSCT) (Turk et al. 2005) and X-ray Computed
Micro-Tomography (MCT) (Tuniz et al., 2011).
The purpose was to check possible connections
between the thickness of the bone and the position
of the holes, considering that animals test the soft
parts of the bone surface and the perforations are
39

Elena-Cristina Nițu
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
naturally made where the bones are thinner (Turk
et al., 2005). The results suggest that all holes
could not have been produced by carnivores (a
single one at the most), and most traces around the
holes, previously ascribed to carnivores, are results
of post-depositional phenomena (Turk et al. 2005;
Tuniz et al., 2011)
The abundant publications are completed by
two extensive volumes, both coordinated by I.
Turk, in which all results of the Divje babe I cave
researches are summarized. The first volume
appears in 2007 and consists of geological and
paleontological studies (481 pages), whereas the
second appears in 2014 and refers to all
archeological discoveries made in the cave (457
pages). There is a detailed description of all
artifacts. There are very large tables showing
several characteristics of each individual piece
(inventory number, discovery venue coordinates,
dimensions, weight, raw materials, description
etc.). These are all solid proofs of a huge volume
of work. One chapter in this last paper contains the
answer of the author with regards to the negative
studies previously published.
As one may notice from this review of the
main publications, the opinions are different;
however, irrespective of how wide-ranging the
criticisms presented above were, they may not be
compared with the latest study published on the
discovery from Divje babe I, on which we will
insist further.
Latest explanation: Hyenas made the
perforations and the flute is not Mousterian
An article published in 2015 by C. Dietrich
came to our attention in particular as it may be
edifying in terms of how an archeological object is
analyzed. The author states that he made two great
“discoveries”, which may clarify the controversies
in connection with the Divje babe I piece: the flute
is not Mousterian and it was the hyenas which
made it.
The first observation relating to the cultural
affiliation of the flute seems to us the most
questionable, since it is not provided any
arguments in this respect. Therefore, as we will
further show, many affirmations in the article have
no supporting demonstration, while some of them
are rather odd.
The article starts with an enumeration of the
sites in which, according to C. Dietrich (2015),
Mousterian flutes are believed to have been
discovered: Potočka Zijalca, Istállóskö, Mokriška
Jama. For each particular location, the sentences
are written so that the reader can understand that
these discoveries were wrongly classified as
Mousterian. For instance, the first sentence in the
article is: The first ‘Neanderthal cave bear bone
flute’ from the Middle Paleolithic was believed to
have been discovered in the 1920s from Potočka
Zijalka Jama Cave (i.e. Potok Cave) [1] (p. 1). In
reality, all these settlements enumerated have
always been published as belonging to the Upper
Paleolithic, the only discovery considered to be
Mousterian being the flute from Divje babe I.
Moreover, throughout the article, the author
continuously affirms that these sites’ classification
as belonging to the Aurignacian is an outstanding
discovery and therefore he gives the reader the
most erroneous impression that they were ever
believed to be Mousterian. This attempt to mislead
the readers was probably made as an introduction
to the debunking the cultural affiliation of the
Divje babe I flute: Another juvenile bear cub femur
with holes from Divje Babe I Cave, Slovenia, a
small cave bear den (cf. [25]; figure 5(4)), where
also Neanderthal Mousterian layers were believed
to be present [26], was declared twice incorrectly
as the ‘oldest instrument’, a 43 140 BP old
‘Neanderthal flute’ from layer 8 [26,27] (figure
5(4)). This was already contradictory to the results
of the archaeological inventory that is well
acceptably declared to be solely of, again, Cro-
Magnon human Late Paleolithic origin, and not of
Mousterian (cf. [28]) (p. 4-5). What makes the
author so confident about the discovery not being
Mousterian? We may have expected new deposit
dating or analyses etc, yet nothing of this nature is
cited. The author argues his ascertainment by
quoting a single article by M. Brodar (1999),
completely ignoring all analyses made on the cave
deposit as well as dating or archeological
discoveries at the site, all extensively published in
various studies (I. Turk, 1997a, 2007, 2014; G.
Bastiani et al., 2000). Should we understand from
this undertaking that a part of the bibliography
(which is actually a single article) is valuable for
his demonstration, while the other much more
consistent part may be neglected as it is a priori
worthless? Why would we not believe the
discoverer who supervised the archeological
researches in Divje babe I at the time of the flute
was found and who obviously knows the context
40

Some observations on the supposed natural origin of the Divje babe I flute
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
the best! Not citing all bibliographical sources
regarding the cultural affiliation creates the false
impression that only the articles mentioned exist
and raise serious issues of professional deontology.
However, not even the studies cited by C.
Dietrich in favor of his affirmations are accurate.
Moreover, they are interpreted contrary to what
cited authors allege. For example, a work by Borut
Tošcan includes an affirmation that there is no
connection between a Mousterian context and the
bones from Divje Babe I: Therefore, there is no
evidence for a Neanderthal (Mousterian) context
and the cave bear remains, which even occur in
several older and younger Late Pleistocene layers
(cf. [25]) (p. 5). As cited by the author, the work is
difficult to identify. The article entitled Remains of
large mammals from Divje Babe I its stratigraphy,
taxonomy and biometry is published in 2007, not in
2011, while in the work Opera Instituti
Archaeologici Sloveniae 21, B. Tošcan publishes
another study in partnership with J. Dirjec, entitled
Big climatic changes revealed by tiny fossils.
Palaeoenvironment at the boundary between the
Early and Middle Würm in the surroundings of
Divje babe I. Considering that the study in 2011
refers to an analysis of small mammals, it is likely
about the publication in 2007, which by no means
concludes on the lack of a Mousterian context, yet
precisely on the fact that the cave was alternatively
visited by both people and carnivores (B. Tošcan,
2007, p. 265). Citing some bibliographic sources
with no connection to such assertions may be
easily noticed in numerous cases, such as the case
of mistakenly including M. Otte (2000) in the
group of the authors who doubt the discovery of
the flute in Divje Babe I; in addition, C. S.
Holdermann and J. Serangeli (1999) are classified
among the researchers who bring forth arguments
in favor of the authenticity of the flute, which is
totally the opposite. Furthermore, a figure with
hyena dentition is cited in M. Turk and L.
Dimakaroski’s article in 2011, even though no
scheme of this type exists (it is likely to refer to
fig. 14 in I. Turk et al., 2001). As there are too
many examples of wrong quoting, which fail to
support the information in the text or produce great
confusion, we will no longer insist on them, as
they would take too much space in this study.
Coming back to the discovery context, even
though no explanation except M. Brodar’s article
(1999) is offered, the conclusions are extremely
trenchant: There, where they are dated absolutely
(Divje Babe Cave 1) are without archaeological
context at all, and simply of cave bear den use
during the MIS 3–5d (p. 14). Should we understand
from this that the almost 700 lithic pieces and the
20 fireplaces (the latter being discovered only in
the Mousterian levels) do not represent for C.
Dietrich (2015) and archeological context or in the
author’s conception do the pieces and the
fireplaces fail to be deemed as anthropic traces?
One has to bear in mind that in numerous caves the
archeological materials are few because they
functioned as seasonal residences, yet, this thing
does not limit their importance and they should be
treated as very prosperous sites because they offer
information on the type of habitat and environment
exploitation by the Paleolithic communities, not to
mention the fact that they may constitute important
discoveries (M. Cârciumaru et al., 2002).
The second demonstration made by C.
Dietrich (2015) refers to the holes made by hyenas.
This undertaking is similar to the F. d’Errico and
collaborators’ one (1998a, b, 2003) and relies on
the analysis of many fauna collections in some
sites without material culture, located in Germany
and Romania, in which bear bones are
preponderant. The femurs with holes identified in
the collections studied are compared to the so
called Paleolithic flutes. From a paleontological
point of view, the article is obviously valuable and,
most holes in the bones are certainly produced by
carnivores. Furthermore, unlike other articles
presented above (F. d’Errico et al., 1998a, b, 2003,
G. Albrect at al., 1998, P. Chasse, A. Nowell,
1998), this one is based only on femurs and offers
a complete image on the destructions following
animals’ action on various bones. In addition, the
perforations could not evidently have been made
with canines. This phenomenon is clearly
demonstrated on the article. Nevertheless, in
comparison with the rigor of the paleontological
study, the archeological study suffers considerably.
The author starts from the discovery that the
studies on flutes have failed to take account of the
carnivores which may have made the holes on the
bones: All former archaeological, ecological focus
cave bear ‘bone flute’ studies forgot all four cave
bear predators—steppe lions (Panthera leo
spelaea), leopards (Panthera pardus spelaea), Ice
Age spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) and
Ice Age wolves (Canis lupus spelaeus)—which are
41

Elena-Cristina Nițu
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
known now to be cave bear killers, and main
consumers in mountain regions, where mammoth
steppe megafauna were absent [4,18–21] (p. 9).
However, as early as the first publications, the
analyses on the Divje babe I flute referred to the
fact that the holes may have been produced by
carnivores. Additionally, the hyena was
continuously cited, so that, in the first synthesis
work on the flute, after analyzing the carnivores’
dentition, it was affirmed that the holes may have
been made by hyenas’ premolars: They could only
have been made by carnivores with stronger teeth,
e. g. a hyena with premolars. Lower P
4
and upper
P
3
of a hyena are very suitable in shape and size
for the hole in the suspected flute. (…)The other
suitable tooth is upper P
3
left of cave lion or
leopard (I. Turk, 1997a, p. 174). Furthermore, the
metal moulds utilized in experiments were made
using hyena, wolf and bear maxillaries’ shape and
size. One of the criticisms brought to I. Turk’s
publications relates to citing canines in connection
to perforation process. It is indeed difficult to
imagine how an animal could use its canines to
make holes on a thick bone, mainly because all
studies supported the idea that the cavities and the
holes were made by molars and premolars of some
carnivores, and we totally agree with C. Dietrich’s
demonstration in this respect (2015). On the other
hand, the flute’s discoverer (I. Turk et al., 2001)
relies on the experiments conducted when he
considers that the shape of the holes matches only
the traces left by canines on the bones: The test
showed that the form of the holes on the flute could
only have been produced by canine teeth. Test
holes made with carnassials of a wolf and cave
hyena were more oval and rhomboid in shape (M.
Turk, L. Dimkaroski, 2011, p. 256). Nonetheless,
the teeth which could have produced the holes are
difficult to be exactly identified and they are
different from study to study.
Although Table 1 shows the analysis of a
rather consistent number of sites, the comments in
the article offer us nothing more than the number
of the perforated bones found at one single site,
Weiße Kuhle, where 13 femurs are perforated.
Even though we deal here with a natural behavior
of carnivores, hyenas in particular, the percentage
or the number of perforated bones in relation to the
entire fauna analyzed is of paramount importance.
For a convincing demonstration, the bones with at
least two perforations in the middle are also
essential. Given the fact that what defines this
discovery is the number of perforations, their
regularity and alignment on the middle area of the
bone, we find no example of a flute similar to the
Divje babe I one in the rich graphics provided by
C. Dietrich (2015). Therefore, figure 4 shows some
bear bones, most with punctures on extremities,
whereas figure 5 shows that, except the flute and a
femur from the Peștera cu Oase (fig. 2/4a), the rest
have only one hole (of which one is even fractured
as a result of perforations (fig. 5, 6 b,c). As for the
example of the femur with two holes from the
Peștera cu Oase (Oase Cave), this is published by
M. Pacher and J. Quillè (2013). It is very visible in
figure 12.7/g that there is only one hole on the
bone, the second being only a puncture (fig. 2/4b).
This is actually the same thing as observed in the
critical studies cited before: no difference is made
between punctures and holes.
Conclusions
The large debates on the Divje babe I flute
have been triggered by the following main
characteristics of the object: special morphology
(number of perforations and their location), the
Mousterian context and the lack of processing
traces. In nearly all studies, it was stated that no
other similar Mousterian object was found and a
new discovery of this type would help validation of
the flute. However, if this a Mousterian invention,
considering the reduced density of populations and
therefore the limited communication between
Neanderthal communities, spread of some concepts
may not be compared with phenomena specific of
Upper Paleolithic. There is an extremely low
chance of a similar discovery in Middle
Paleolithic, possibly if one found a place inhabited
by the same communities discovered in the Divje
babe I cave.
However, if it was a species of carnivores
which made the flute, considering the natural
biological behavior, there are very good chances
that similar objects be discovered. In the multitude
of articles aiming at demonstrating the natural
character of the flute, no bone with perforations
has been proven to be similar to the Divje babe I
one up to this moment. Moreover, even though
many studies specify that there are bones with two
or more holes, in the illustration indicated there are
no examples of this kind. The bones with middle
holes have only one perforation, associated mostly
with one or two cavities, while the majority of the
42

Some observations on the supposed natural origin of the Divje babe I flute
Tome XVII, Numéro 2, 2015
examples given have holes and cavities on the
(epiphysis and metaphysis) extremities. By the
regularity and position of the perforations on the
flute, there are no further debatable issues.
Admitting that the perforations were made by
animals, the experts should have found at least one
similar bone in all these fauna collections studied.
If one considers all studies on the possibility
of the holes having been made by carnivores,
including the experiments made by I. Turk, this
endeavor is even more difficult to demonstrate
than the anthropic origin of the holes, even in the
absence of visible processing traces. It is unlikely
that the Divje babe I discovery be the only such
example made by animals, while the failure to find
similar examples represent arguments in favour of
the perforations having made by human
communities who seasonally lived in the cave.
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44