Extra reading:
Life and culture
Early life in Slovenia
What do you know about early life in Slovenia?
Are there any important historical sites near your home?
Slovenia has a rich history – and the evidence is all around us.
Near Idrija, in western Slovenia, there are fossils of dinosaurs that lived here 200 million years ago. The earliest signs of humans in Slovenia come from the Loza Woods near Orehek. Scientists discovered two ancient tools in a cave there. The tools are made from stone and they are about 250,000 years old.
Early humans first appeared in Africa and Europe about 500,000 years ago. One group, the Neanderthals, lived in Europe between 120,000 and 35,000 years ago. The weather was very cold and they lived in caves. They made fires to keep warm and to cook their food. They made clothes from animal skins. They probably used language, and they made tools and weapons.
Scientists now believe that these early Neanderthal people liked music. Not long ago, they found an ancient musical instrument near Cerkno in the valley of the Idrijca River. It is like a flute, and it is made from the bone of a bear. They believe it is about 50,000 years old. It is called the Divje Babe flute. It is probably the oldest musical instrument in the world.
Our early ancestors made homes using wood, animal skins and sometimes the bones of animals. Later, they lived in small villages, often near rivers. We now know that farmers lived in the Ljubljana marshes, and at Lake Cerknica, 9,000 years ago. In 2002, archaeologists discovered part of a wooden wheel 20 kilometres south-west of Ljubljana. They believe it is more than 5,000 years old. No one is sure who invented the first wheel. But, for the moment, this one is the oldest wheel in the world.
About the oldest wheel in the world
The restoration of the oldest discovered wheel in the world took more than ten years. Today it is kept in the City Museum of Ljubljana.
A Read the text, then work with a partner. What do these words mean? If you don’t know, try to guess.
evidence [latex]\bullet[/latex] fossil [latex]\bullet[/latex] sign [latex]\bullet[/latex] discover [latex]\bullet[/latex] tool [latex]\bullet[/latex] stone [latex]\bullet[/latex] skin [latex]\bullet[/latex] weapon [latex]\bullet[/latex] flute [latex]\bullet[/latex] bone [latex]\bullet[/latex] wheel
B What do you know about the things in the pictures? Share your ideas with the class.
C Read the text again and answer these questions.