Ivan Turk, Janez Dirjec, Boris Kavur

Ali so v Sloveniji našli najstarejše glasbilo?


Ivan Turk, Janez Dirjec and Boris Kavur

V paleolitskem jamskem najdišču Divje Babe I (450 m) v dolini Idrijce pri kraju Reka v zahodni Sloveniji potekajo raziskave od leta 1980. Gre za pomembno najdišče v predgorju Julijskih Alp z več kot 12 m debelimi mlajšepleistocenskimi usedlinami. Med izkopavanji Janeza Dirjeca in Ivana Turka leta 1995 je bila v peti mousterienski plasti najdena stegnenica mladega jamskega medveda, ki ima na zadnji strani štiri umetne luknje: dve celi in dve polovični. Kost je na obeh koncih polomljena. Prelomi so bili naknadno zglajeni, kar je značilno za večino kostnih odlomkov v najdišču. Najdba izvira iz sprijetega zgornjega dela več kot 1 m debele fosfatne plasti 8 v kvadratu 17. Ima značilno rjavo barvo fosfatne plasti. Od jamskega vhoda je oddaljena 15 m, od najbližje jamske stene pa 2,5 m. Najdena je bila v globini 2,73-2,85 m. V neposredni bližini (kvadrata 17 in 20) je bilo v globini 2,61-2,73 m manjše kurišče, od katerega se je ohranilo samo lesno oglje, zogleneli ter sežgani drobci živalskih kosti in pepel. Lokalno zamejeni ostanki kurišča so bili delno v sprijetih in delno v nesprijetih usedlinah. Za plast 8 in za vse plasti nad njo so značilni dolomitni bloki, bolj ali manj zaobljen grušč, pesek in melj. Krioklastičen grušč nastopa samo lokalno v plasteh 2 in 5. Fosfatni agregati, ki so merilo za diagenezo usedlin, so zastopani v različnih količinah v skoraj vseh plasteh. Največ jih je v plasti 8. Navzgor si sledijo po kronološkem redu nesprijete interpleniglacialne plasti 7- 2 iz zadnejga glaciala. Plasti 2-4 in zgornji del plasti 5 je krioturbatno naguban. Gube so nastale pred drugim vrhuncem pleniglaciala pred 20.000 leti, neposredno po sedimentiranju palsti 2. Pleniglacialnih in poznoglacialnih usedlin ni. V plasti 2 je bila najdena aurignacienska koščena konica. Več podobnih konic, med njimi ena razcepljena, je bilo v kompleksu 2-3. Plasti 3-8 in starejše plasti vsebujejo redke srednjepaleolitske najdbe moustérienskega tipa, med drugim tudi svedre. Ostanki kurišč so bili odkriti še v plasteh 5 in 6 ter v starejših plasteh. Za vse plasti so značilni množični fosilni ostanki jamskega medveda, ki predstavljajo več kot 99% vseh paleontoloških najdb. Ostala favna je zastopana z več kot 50 mlajšepleistocenskimi vrstami, med katerimi prevladujejo po gostoti in bogastvu vrst zveri in mali sesalci. Poznani so tudi izsledki pelodnih in antrakotomskih raziskav, ki se skladajo z raziskavami mikrofavne. Radiokarbonske analize fosilnih kosti in lesnega oglja z Ams postopkom so pokazale naslednjo starost dela interpleniglacialnih plasti. Plast 2 (8 m od jamskega vhoda): 35.300 + - 700 B.P. (RIDDL 734). Plast 6 (9 m od jamskega vhoda): 43.400 + 1.200 - 1.400 B.P. (RIDDL 735). Plast 8 zgoraj (6 m od jamskega vhoda): 45.100 + 1.500 - 1.800 B.P. (RIDDL 745). Vse datacije je posredoval E. Nelson, Radio- Isotope Direct Detection Lab, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.
Najdba kosti z luknjami nesporno pripada moustérienu in to tako na podlagi najdb paleolitskih artefaktov kot radiokarbonskih datacij. Preliminarni izsledki paleontoloških raziskav potrjujejo, da je plast 8 lahko v celoti starejša od interstadiala Hengelo, ki ga vzporejamo s plastjo 5. Ker je bil zanimiv predmet najden precej globoko v kompaktni breči, nad njim smo leta 1995 predhodno odstranili 25 cm sprijetih usedlin, ni nobenega dvoma o primarni legi. Ker poznamo podobne predmete samo iz obdobja mlajšega paleolitika in se razlagajo kot glasbila, ni izključeno, da smo na sledi doslej najstarejšemu glasbilu v Evropi. Seveda, če se potrdi domneva, da je luknje naredil človek, v tem primeru verjetno neandertalec. Druga najbolj sprejemljiva razlaga je, da je luknje naredila neka večja zver. Zaenkrat na kosti nismo odkrili nobenih drugih sledov zob.
Bolj izčrpno poročilo o zanimivi najdbi bo objavljeno v Arheološkem vestniku (1996), glasilu Inštituta za arheologijo Znanstvenoraziskovalnega centra Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti v Ljubljani.
Vprašanja / pripombe

The oldest musical instrument in Europe discovered in Slovenia?

Ivan Turk, Janez Dirjec and Boris Kavur

The excavation of the palaeolithic cave site Divje Babe I (450 m) in the valley of the Idrijca river near the village Reka in the western part of Slovenia has been under way since 1980. Divje Babe I is an important site at the foothills of the Julian Alps with sediments from the upper pleistocene over 12 m thick. The excavations of Ivan Turk and Janez Dirjec in 1995 in the fifth Moustérian level yielded the femur of a young cave bear with four artificial holes on the posterior side: two of them complete and two partialy perserved. Both tips of the bone are broken and the fracture later smoothed, a feature characteristic of most bone fragments found in the cave. The bone was found in the consolidated upper part of phosphate layer 8, which is over a metre thick, located in square 17. The associated brown colour is characteristic of the phosphate layer. It was located 15 m from the cave entrance and 2.5 m from the nearest cave wall. The bone lay at a depth of 2.73 to 2.85 m. In the immediate vicinity a small hearth is located (squares 17 and 20), buried at a depth of 2.61 to 2.73 m with the preserved charcoal, charred and burnt fragments of animal bones and ashes. Locally enclosed remains of the hearth were found partly in consolidated and partly in unconsolidated sediments. Layer 8 and all upper layers are characterised by dolomite blocks, more or less rounded rubble, sand and silt. Cryoclastic ruble are found only locally in layers 2 and 5. Phosphate aggregates that serve as the criteria in the diagenesis of the sediments, are present in various proportions and distributed across practically all layers, but there is an especially high concentration in layer 8. Moving upwards, interpleniglacial layers 7-2 from the last glacial period follow in chronological order. Layers 2-4 and the upper part of layer 5 reveal cryoturbatic folds which formed before the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago, and immediately after the sedimentation of layer 2. Pleniglacial and late glacial sediments are not present. The Aurignacian bone point was found in layer 2. More bone points of similar characteristics, one of them split base, were found in the layer complex 2-3. Layers 3-8 and older ones contain rare middle Palaeolithic tools of the Moustérian type, among other stone tools, borers. The remains of hearths were found in layers 5 and 6 and some older ones. All layers contain numerous remains of the cave bear, which constitute more than 99% of all finds. Other fauna is represented by more than 50 species from the upper pleistocene period, of which carnivores and small mammals are the most frequent and diverse species. The results of pollen and anthracotomic examinations are consistent with the results of the research of microfauna. Radiocarbon dating of the fossilized bones and charcoal using the AMS method yielded the following age of selected interpleniglacial layers. Layer 2 (8m from the cave entrance): 35,300 + - 700 B.P. (RIDDL 734). Layer 6 (9 m from the cave entrance): 43,400 + 1,200 - 1,400 B.P. (RIDDL 735). Layer 8 in the upper part (6 m from the cave entrance): 45,100 + 1,500 - 1,800 B.P. (RIDDL 745). All datings were performed by E. Nelson, Radio-Isotope Direct Detection Lab, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. The bones with the holes are believed to belong to the Moustérian period and this assumption is based both on preserved palaeolithic artifacts and radiocarbon datings. Preliminary results of the palaeontological research prove that layer 8 could be older than the interstadial Hengelo which is compared to layer 5. Since the interesting bone artifact was found fairly deep in the compact breccia, in 1995 some 25 cm of consolidated sediments above the find were removed first, there can be no doubt about its primary location. Since similar artifacts date from the upper palaeolithic exclusively and are believed to be musical instruments, the possibility that the find could be the oldest musical instrument found in Europe cannot be ruled out. Of course, it must be first proved that the holes are manmade, and in this particular case it would probably be Neanderthal man who was responsible. The next likely explanation is that the holes were made by some large carnivore even though traces of teeth on the bone have not yet been discovered. A more detailed report on this interesting find will be published in the Archaeological Gazette - Arheološki vestnik (1996), the journal of the Institute of Archaeology of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Ljubljana.
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