During regular archaeological excavations, several
flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
s that date to the
European Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...
were discovered in caves in the
Swabian Alb region of
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Dated and tested independently by two laboratories, in England and Germany, the artifacts are authentic products of the
Aurignacian
The Aurignacian () is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with Cro-Magnon, Early European modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the L ...
archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
. The Aurignacian flutes were created between 43,000 and 35,000 years ago. The flutes, made of bone and ivory, represent the earliest known
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
s and provide unmistakable evidence of
prehistoric music.
The flutes were found in caves with the oldest known examples of figurative art. Music and sculpture as artistic expression have developed simultaneously among the first humans in Europe, as the region is considered a key area in which various cultural innovations have developed. In addition to recreational and religious purposes, such ritual music might have helped to maintain larger social networks. This may have provided a competitive advantage over the Neanderthals.
Early flutes
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In 2006, the Hohle Fels flute was discovered in the
Hohle Fels cave in Germany's
Swabian Alb. The flute is made from a vulture radius bone perforated with five finger holes, and dates to approximately 35,000 years ago.
Several years before, two flutes made of
mute swan bone and one made of
woolly mammoth ivory were found in the nearby
Geissenklösterle cave. The team that made the Hohle Fels discovery wrote that these finds were, at the time, the earliest evidence of humans being engaged in musical culture. They suggested music may have helped to maintain bonds between larger groups of humans, and that this may have helped the species to expand both in numbers and in geographical range.
In 2012, a fresh high-resolution
carbon dating examination revealed an age of 42,000 to 43,000 years for the
Geissenklösterle cave flutes, suggesting that they could be older than the one from the Hohle Fels cave.
The artifact known as the
Divje Babe flute, which was discovered in
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
in 1995, has also been suggested as the oldest Paleolithic flute, though this claim has been disputed. The artifact is
AMS-14C dated to 43100 ± 700 year old
cave bear femur
The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg.
The Femo ...
pierced with spaced holes. Later dating using the more powerful ESR method has shown that the layer containing the flute is outside the dating range of the AMS-14C method and that the original dating of samples from this layer was incorrect. According to ESR dating, the age of the bone is now estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 years BP. Its discoverer suggested the holes were
manmade and that there may have been four originally before the item was damaged.
However, other scientists have argued that the holes were chewed by an animal.
See also
*
Art of the Upper Paleolithic
The art of the Upper Paleolithic represents the oldest form of prehistoric art. Figurative art is present in prehistoric Europe, Europe and Prehistoric Indonesia, Southeast Asia, beginning around 50,000 years ago. Non-figurative cave paintings, c ...
References
External links
* 35.000 Jahre alte Flöten gefunden (in German), swr.de, Retrieved on June 29, 200
{{Prehistoric technology, state=expanded
Ancient music
Upper Paleolithic
Flutes
Bone carvings
pt:Flautas paleolíticas