Where and when humans began making music is a mystery. And although we may never know music’s origins, it is thought to be related to the cognitive explosion we Homo sapiens went through about 50,000-60,000 years ago. As a part of other artistic and symbolic expressions, music was a part of how we maintained larger social networks, as well as the expansion of human culture. In fact, music is thought to have helped early humans with ceremonial rituals, recreation, motivation, identification, communication, and even hunting. What’s more, some of the first instruments these early humans created are still around, largely unchanged. Take a look at these 3 kinds of instruments that haven’t changed much over the millennia.
Instruments that Haven’t Changed
Percussion
Unsurprisingly, the oldest instruments still in use today are drums. The oldest percussion instruments ever discovered were found at an archeological site in Mezyn, Ukraine: a set of mammoth bones – specifically the shoulder blade and femur – painted with red ochre, along with a reindeer antler hammer. Each had signs of repetitive surface damage. Thought to be among the very first musical instruments, these artifacts are dated as 24,000 years old.
Although the materials have changed and become somewhat more sophisticated, percussion instruments are still played the same way all these thousands of years later.
String Instruments
When it comes to instruments made from less permanent organic materials, like string instruments, there isn’t much that has been preserved. To understand these kinds of instruments, we must look for ancient clues found in rock art. One such example comes from the Trois-Frères cave in France. An image of a figure – referred to as “The Sorcerer” – with a bowed musical instrument similar to a violin there has been dated as 13,000 years old.
The oldest string instrument that we have detailed information on is known as the “se,” and is 2,700 years old. Found in the Chinese province of Hubei, the se was a board instrument with 25 strings of twisted silk, not entirely unlike a dulcimer or lap guitar, and was used for ceremonies and rituals.
Wind Instruments
Next to drums, perhaps the most prominent ancient musical instruments that continue to exist today are flutes and whistles. Here are a few examples of these prehistoric instruments:
Divje Babe Cave, Slovenia
Found in 1995, this flute was made from the femur of a cave bear and was pierced with three equally spaced holes. Dated at 40,000 years old, this early flute can produce diatonic sounds.
Geissenkloesterie Cave, Germany
Two flutes, dated to around 35,000 years ago, were found in Germany in 2012. One, shaped from a swan’s ulna, is thought to have originally been 17 cm long with three holes to produce four notes. The other flute was crafted from ivory.
Hohle Fels, Germany
Fragments of flutes thought to be between 35,000 and 43,000 years old were found in 2008. From these fragments, one flute was almost entirely rebuilt. It’s 21.8 cm long, and made with the radius of a griffon vulture wing. It features five finger holes and a V-shaped mouthpiece
Along with the flute that was reconstructed, other small pieces were discovered. These pieces were fragmented, but likely belong to two more flutes. All of the flute fragments were made from ivory, a material much more difficult to shape than bird bones.
Jiahu, China
A set of thirty flutes made from hollowed bird bones was discovered in China, and dated to 7,000 BC. They each have 5 to 8 finger holes, and one of them is even still playable!
Marsoulas. France
A seashell, converted into a wind instrument and dated to 16,000 BC, was found in the decorated cave of Marsoulas. This represents a rare find, as it is one of only a few wind instruments fashioned from shells found from that time period, and the first found made from a conch shell. Forgotten for more than 80 years after its discovery, a more recent detailed analysis found that it had gone through a significant transformation to turn it into an instrument.
Final Thoughts
Some musical instruments are relatively new. The saxophone, for example, was invented in 1846, less than 200 years ago. But music, as a whole, is as old as humanity – so it makes sense that simple instruments would stand the test of time. Sure, modern drums are more varied, and many of today’s string and wind instruments are far more complex and intricate. But the basics of these instruments have not fundamentally changed in tens of thousands of years!
Are you looking to take part in an activity as old as our species? Take your first steps (or even your most recent steps) into the wider world of music with the professional instructors at The Music Studio! Check out all our programs, lessons, and classes, and sign up today!