Music is one the vital parts of our everyday life. Whether it be background music of a program to make us feel certain emotions, listening to your own preferred genre, or just humming a tune, music has been a huge part of our lives. Music is seen as an art, a form of expression, or entertainment, and being human we love to express ourselves and to be entertained. In the caves of France we have seen prehistoric art, but what of prehistoric music? In the following blog I will discuss prehistoric instruments, what they were made of and where they were found.
Given that in prehistoric times they did not have steel or special gears we have for modern instruments, they made due with what they had. The earliest instrument that has been found is that of a flute some made of bird bone or mammoth ivory (image below). These were also found in cave, but instead of France it was found in southern Germany. Using carbon dating these flutes date back to between 42,000 and 43,000 years old. You could argue that the holes of the flute were made by the teeth of an animal, but that would not explain the ivory flutes. Bone is hollow to allow room for bone marrow (the marrow makes red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets), but ivory is not. For prehistoric man (they were made by Homo sapiens), to make an ivory flute took time and intent. The finger holes vary between 3, 5, and 8. Compared to the 6, 8, and 11 finger holes modern flutes have, you would think the “music” that these prehistoric flutes made was just noise, but “the 18.7-centimetre-long flute, which is carved from mammoth ivory, has three finger holes and would have been capable of playing relatively complex melodies.”
Given that in prehistoric times they did not have steel or special gears we have for modern instruments, they made due with what they had. The earliest instrument that has been found is that of a flute some made of bird bone or mammoth ivory (image below). These were also found in cave, but instead of France it was found in southern Germany. Using carbon dating these flutes date back to between 42,000 and 43,000 years old. You could argue that the holes of the flute were made by the teeth of an animal, but that would not explain the ivory flutes. Bone is hollow to allow room for bone marrow (the marrow makes red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets), but ivory is not. For prehistoric man (they were made by Homo sapiens), to make an ivory flute took time and intent. The finger holes vary between 3, 5, and 8. Compared to the 6, 8, and 11 finger holes modern flutes have, you would think the “music” that these prehistoric flutes made was just noise, but “the 18.7-centimetre-long flute, which is carved from mammoth ivory, has three finger holes and would have been capable of playing relatively complex melodies.”
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After the invention of the flute, prehistoric man was very proud of it. What I mean by this is on cave paintings, carvings, or statues, the figure is playing a flute. In the image below you cannot see anyone playing a flute, but it appears that they are dancing; and dancing is usually paired with music. The most famous prehistoric flute player is probably the Kokopelli (image below). This figure dates back over 3,000 years ago, and is most likely older than the ancient Egyptian civilization. It is a fertility deity that is shown with a humpback and a flute in their hands. Kokopelli can be “found throughout the mountains, deserts, and high plains of the southwestern United States,” seeing that it was mostly used by the native American cultures.
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Even though using bones as instruments sounds barbaric, we still use them to this day. It is not as well known as a flute, but it is thought to have roots in Egypt or China. The instrument is called Bones, or when using spoons, Spoons. The image below from the mid 1800's shows a man, William Sidney Mount, playing it. That might be a record from many decades ago, but there are still avid Bones users (video below). It is so strange to think something we know have awards for, something we sing to children, something we use to calm or entertain us, can be dated almost as far back as our origins. It seems as if our music has evolved with us and some believe it may have helped us evolve...and survive.
Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.
Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.
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