youtube_video_150008461-2023-01-25-15-59-13

Watch a short film about the Neanderthal flute, a treasure of global significance. The importance of the discovery of the musical instrument, which changed the view of the Neanderthal world and stimulated new research, is discussed by Dr Peter Turk, Prof Boštjan Gombač and Miran Pflaum, MA. The oldest musical instrument in the world, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute, was discovered in Divje babe cave near Cerkno and has been declared by experts to have been made by Neanderthals. It is made from the left thighbone of a young cave bear and has four pierced holes. Musical experiments confirmed findings of archaeological research that the size and the position of the holes cannot be accidental – they were made with the intention of musical expression. The flute from Divje babe is the only one that was definitely made by Neanderthals. 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.