>GlennM:
>
>Maybe I didn't make myself very clear. I was not intending
>to enter into a discussion on whether the 'flute' in question
>was man-made or not. I am questioning your basis for believing
>that this object is a musical instrument. You made reference
>to a web-site, but I found no basis for your statement there.
>The web-site in question made an ambiguous reference to the
>possibility, but your statement was rather matter-of-fact,
>something along the lines of "man first made a flute 45,000
>years ago." I did not find support for that statement on
>this particular web-site. That's all I was questioning
>really.
>
Flutes of better quality have been found from homo sapien sites and these date
back to 30,000 years. Ivan Turk has access to those flutes to make a
comparison. What happened was that when this was found, rumors of it began
circulating. Some journalists caught wind of it, mostly in Europe since I
have never found reference to it in a US publication. Unfortunately the first
scientific publication will be in Slovenian, as it should be since the
discoverer is a Slovene.
>Furthermore, as a musician I don't find that this object
>even *vaguely* resembles a musical instrument. I have yet
>to figure out how one might produce a musical note on anything
>with such a shape, unless using it as a crude drumstick! :o)
>It *appears* solid, which would make the holes perforations.
>However, if it IS hollow, as you indicate, how would one
>cover enough holes to force air out of the end? Presuming
>only two thumbs, how would one cover the other holes on the
>bottom? Considering the size of the holes, I can't see
>anything other than a breathy sound emitting, kind of like
>the sound one makes when blowing out birthday candles.
>IMHO, it looks more like a weapon of some sort, maybe 'bone
>knuckles?'
>:o)
>
Is this a musical instrument? Most of the anthropologists I have talked to
about it, who have seen it, say it is. These guys have also seen other
paleolithic flutes made of bone. The reason it doesn't look like you expect
is that it is broken. Lots of objects are found in poor states of repair in
the human fossil record. The upper and lower part are missing. This is like
finding the middle part of a saxophone in the fossil record. Take the mid
part of a saxophone and try to make a sound out of it.
You might know more about this than I but I understand that the more holes you
have (within limits) the more notes you can make. This object has 4 holes.
Some of the objects found in the fossil record have no holes and are therefore
whistles.
As to bone knuckles, when you break a flute, it makes a perfect head-knocker,
even today. :-)
glenn
>OK, I'm through now.
>
>--
>Glenn Dixon *********************************************
>Worship Leader | Web Designer and Future Web Guru
>The Jesus Center | Web-Wide Word
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>*********************************************************
Foundation,Fall and Flood
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