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Jun 24, 2009 01:10 PM | 10
Carved flutes dating back some 35,000 years were discovered during a dig last summer at an upper Paleolithic site in southwestern Germany, making them among—if not the—oldest documented musical instruments, reports a study published today in Nature (Scientific American is part of the Nature Publishing Group).
These flutes, from the early Aurignacian period, show that there was "a well-established musical tradition at the time when modern humans colonized Europe," write the study authors from the University of Tübingen. The most complete, five-holed flute is made of bone from griffon vultures and is about 8.6 inches (21.8 centimeters) long. Other flute fragments are ivory.
Precise dating of objects older than 30,000 years has been problematic, and although radiocarbon dating has pegged the flutes to at least 35,000 years ago, their placement in the sediment layers in the Hohle Fels Cave suggest that they might be 40,000 years old.
The authors and other scholars assert that "the existence of complex musical instruments [is] an indication of fully modern behavior and advanced symbolic communication," which would strengthen the argument that these early Europeans were already relatively culturally advanced. In fact, the bone flute was found just 28 inches (70 centimeters) away from a Venus figurine carved from mammoth ivory, reported earlier this year, which suggests that, "the inhabitants of the sites played these musical instruments in diverse and cultural contexts."
Ancient humans may not have been the only ones piping Paleolithic tunes, however. In the 1990s, researchers uncovered bones in Slovenia that could have been Neandertal flutes. Subsequent analysis, however, showed that the holes might have been made by a gnawing animal instead.
Modern day flautists (and the rest of us) may have to wait before tunes of the past are blowing their way. "We have not yet been able to produce a replica of the flute," the authors write. However, they expect it "to provide a…range of notes and musical possibilities."
Image of the bone flute courtesy of H. Jensen, University of Tubingen
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10 Comments
Add CommentStories like this fascinate me in large part because of the context that is suggested by the key discovery. If these flutes are 35,000 years old, it seems likely (to me) that rich cultural and musical traditions must extend back at least a few tens of thousand years more. I believe that for every discovery we make about our mysterious past, there are countless facts about the richness and complexity of our ancestors' everyday life that we will never know for certain. In my mind, these flutes suggest a culture with its own prodigies, famous flautists, battling bands and enthusiastic amateurs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat really would interest me is the scale used. Is it pentatonic, for example?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's a heart-warming thought that music has been around for 35000 years and probably even longer. However, I wouldn't read too much into the fact that a Venus figurine and a flute ended up 70cm's from each other. Like if somebody digs up a 2009 model laptop in 37009 A.D. and find both Cubase and the bible as an e-book on the hard drive it doesn't necessarily mean that it was used to produce religious music.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs for the scale of the instrument I think it's probably a subset of a pentatonic. The hole distances suggest that the interval between no holes closed and top hole closed is close to an octave, and covering the top three holes might produce a note another octave lower. My guess at a fingering table for the instrument looks something like this - I've arbitrarily assigned C as the key of the instrument:
C5 - - - -
Bb5 - 2 - -
C4 1 - - -
Bb4 1 - 3 - or possibly 1 - 3 4
G4 1 2 - -
F4 1 2 - 4
C3 1 2 3 -
Bb3 1 2 3 4
More or less a minor pentatonic scale without the 3rd. I may be way off on this, though, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm at least partially correct.
Hmm. They haven't made s replica yet. There has to be a reason why someone doesn't just play the flute. I'm curious to know what it is.
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This is an amazing find. I absolutely love the knowledge of knowing that the flute has such a long lineage. It's a truly inspiring thought. I only wonder why they haven't been able to make a playable replica yet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is an amazing find. I absolutely love the knowledge of knowing that the flute has such a long lineage. It's a truly inspiring thought. I only wonder why they haven't been able to make a playable replica yet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is an amazing find. I absolutely love the knowledge of knowing that the flute has such a long lineage. It's a truly inspiring thought. I only wonder why they haven't been able to make a playable replica yet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMade from a vulture bone, eh? The Plains Indians of America made flutes from eagle wing bones. Birds have hollow bones.
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