The land of the present-day Slovenia was inhabited already in the Palaeolithic. The oldest evidence of the first human habitation is Potočka zijalka in Olševa in the Savinja Alps. The most famous find from this cave habitation is a bony needle, whereas the holed bone from the underground cave Divje babe is considered
to be the oldest flute in Europe. A different culture of living was introduced with the pile dwellings on the Ljubljana Marshes. Pile dwellings - piles hammered into the shallow lake with cottages built on top of them and the boats fastened to the piles and used for hunting, fishing, fighting and social gatherings - are a truly unique feature of the then life. Finds from the Bronze and Iron Age (Hallstatt) are more numerous. The bronze bucket from Vače called Vaška situla is a significant remain that bears witness of a grave of an important prince. Prince graves in Novo mesto, excavations in Posočje and sites of ancient forts above Vir pri Stični reveal clearly that the Slovenian Hallstatt period was part of the European civilisation.
