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Dig reveals world's oldest flute

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-25 09:30

PARIS: Stone Age humans may have ripped raw meat from the bone with their teeth but they also played music, according to a study reporting the discovery of a 35,000-year-old flute, the oldest instrument known.

Found in the Ach Valley of southern Germany, the nearly intact five-hole flute was meticulously carved with stone tools from the hollow wing-bone of a giant vulture, says the study, published today in the British journal Nature.

Fragments from three ivory flutes, along with nearby instruments not quite as old, suggest that humans who had then only recently migrated to the Upper Danube enjoyed a rich musical culture.

And a stunning female figurine from the same period found only a couple paces from the bone flute, reported last month, points to a broader artistic flowering.

Indeed, the area within the cave that yielded the flutes reveals a veritable artist's atelier.

"We can now conclude that music played an important role in Aurignacian life in the Ach and Lone valleys," commented Nicholas Conard, a professor at the University of Tubingen and author of the study.

Aurignacian culture flourished in western Europe during what is known as the Upper Paleolithic period, from about 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.

The bone flute, part of a treasure trove of artifacts uncovered at the Hohle Fels Cave, was found in 12 pieces scattered over an oval area the size of a large plate. It is in superb condition and reveals many details about its manufacture.

Nearly 22 centimeters long and 2.2 centimeters in diameter, the instrument has precisely carved markings next to four of the finger holes, probably to indicate where they should be cut.

Using radiocarbon dating techniques, Conard calculated that the newly discovered bone and ivory flutes were made at least 35,000 years ago.

Conard speculates that late Stone Age music did not contribute directly to the evolutionary success of the first modern humans. But it may have given them a slight edge over neighboring Neanderthals, who died out even as Homo sapiens flourished.

"Upper Paleolithic music could have contributed to the maintenance of large social networks, and thereby have helped facilitate the demographic and territorial expansion of modern humans" compared to the more "culturally conservative" and isolated Neanderthals, he said.

AFP