Archaeology
Researchers have discovered archaeological evidence of musical instruments in many parts of the world. One disputed artifact (the Divje Babe flute) has been dated to 67,000 years old, but consensus solidifies around artifacts dated back to around 37,000 years old and later. Artifacts made from durable materials or constructed using durable methods, have been found to survive. As such, the specimens found cannot be irrefutably placed as the earliest musical instruments.[3]
Recent studies indicate early hominins produced their percussive instruments from perishable materials like wood and animal hide, which the passing of time likely destroyed the artifacts beyond recovery.[4]
Found in Slovenia, the Divje Babe Flute is sometimes considered the world's oldest known musical instrument
Flutes
The Divje Babe Flute is a perforated bone discovered in 1995, in the northwest region of Slovenia by archaeologist Ivan Turk. Its origin is disputed, with many arguing that it is most likely the product of carnivores chewing the bone,[5] but Turk and others argue that it is a Neanderthal-made flute. With its age estimated between 43,400 and 67,000 years old, it would be the oldest known musical instrument and the only Neanderthal musical instrument.[6]
Mammoth bone and swan bone flutes have been found dating back to 30,000 to 37,000 years old in the Swabian Alps of Germany. The flutes were made in the Upper Paleolithic age, and are more commonly accepted as being the oldest known musical instruments.[7] The British music archaeologist Graeme Lawson, using a replica of a complete specimen, contends that rather than flutes, they produce the first five notes of the diatonic series in a clear, strident tone when played as an end-blown lip reed instrument, similar to a cornett. He argues that this method of playing is supported by microscopic wear patterns, the absence of a fipple or blowhole, and the well-rounded end aperture.[8]
Sumerian city of Ur
Archaeological evidence of musical instruments was discovered in excavations at the Royal Cemetery in the Sumerian city of Ur. These instruments, one of the first ensembles of instruments yet discovered, include nine lyres (the Lyres of Ur), two harps, a silver double flute, a sistrum, and cymbals. A set of reed-sounded silver pipes discovered in Ur was the likely predecessor of modern bagpipes.[9] The cylindrical pipes feature three side holes that allowed players to produce a whole-tone scale.[10] These excavations, carried out by Leonard Woolley in the 1920s, uncovered non-degradable fragments of instruments and the voids left by the degraded segments that, together, have been used to reconstruct them.[11][12] The graves these instruments were buried in have been carbon dated to between 2600 and 2500 BC, providing evidence that these instruments were used in Sumeria by this time.[13]
