35,000-year-old bone flute found in Germany

[theHandpuppet]

35,000-year-old bone flute found in Germany
Wednesday, 24 June 2009

The oldest man-made musical instrument, a 35,000-year-old carved bird-bone flute, has been unearthed in a German cave.

Archaeologists assembled the flute from 12 pieces of griffon vulture bone scattered in a small plot of the Hohle Fels cave.

Together, the pieces comprise a 8.6-inch instrument with five holes and a notched end.

"It's unambiguously the oldest instrument in the world," University of Tuebingen archaeologist Nicholas Conard said as his findings were published today by the journal Nature....

More at http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/35000yearold-bone-flute-found-in-germany-14358565.html

[villager]

1. Better not let any frat boys see that headline...

n/t

[martymar64]

2. Has the skin flute been dated yet?

Sorry, I just had to get that in before anybody else did.

On a serious note, that is fucking awesome. I wonder what kind of songs the owner played on it?

[MikeE]

3. On your serious note

I wonder too. I'm a composer, so this is really fascinating to me. It's interesting that it has 5 holes. I'm wondering if their music was based on a pentatonic mode/scale. Most traditional melodies are, so it wouldn't surprise me.

[Occulus]

5. Aren't modes the oldest systems?

It seems I recall reading that in my music history course, once upon a time.

Of course, we can only wonder. One of my very first choral pieces was written in a pentatonic mode- the lyrics were a haiku.

[M155Y_A1CH]

11. You guys sound like ...

Creb the Mog-ur when Ayla uttered the name of a new number to continue the count.
5 digits-5 holes.
It's a conceptual quantum leap to realize you could have more holes.
Sometimes it takes us a long time to think up this stuff.

[Orsino]

6. My first question, too.

Could anyone of the time have had a sufficiently musical ear to tune an instrument, even approximately, to a particular scale? Perhaps the musician simply took delight in making distinctly different notes?

It'd be lovely to learn how music came to be, and when.

[semillama]

7. It's speculated there was a "Great Leap Forward" about 40,000 years ago

in terms of cognitive development, so a 35,000 flute fits in with that. Other researchers think that vocal music may be even more ancient and is tied in with the development of language.

[PunkinPi]

8. There is a new PBS special

on music instinct, which mentions this flute. You may want to check it out: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/

It's deeply fascinating and well done show. Enjoy.

[dalaigh lllama]

9. Here's a site where you can hear the flute played

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/44941/title/Stone_Age_flutes_found_in_Germany

And it does seem to play a major pentatonic scale.

[Indenturedebtor]

4. Remind me to never google "bone flute" if I need to reference this story

:D Seriously though thanks for sharing. Very cool! I wonder if they had to learn "green sleeves"?

[L. Coyote]

10. A friend is working the Paisley Cave dig. You heard it here first. They just found

the oldest bone tool in the Americas, in the 14,300 layer, with a hearth and grinding slab!! And more copralites.

http://www.uoregon.edu/~ftrock/faculty.php