🦴 The Very First Music

Long, long before anyone wrote music down, people made music with their bodies. They clapped, stamped their feet and sang. We cannot hear those songs today, because nobody could record them, but scientists think music is one of the oldest things humans do.

Drums and rhythm

Early people probably tapped sticks, stones and logs, and later stretched animal skins over frames to make drums. Wood and skin rot away, so very old drums are almost never found. Bones last much longer, so the oldest instruments we have are made of bone.

A bear bone with holes

In a cave called Divje Babe in Slovenia, scientists found a piece of a young cave bear's thigh bone with holes in it. It is about 50,000 to 60,000 years old, from a time when Neanderthals lived in that area. Some people think it is the oldest flute in the world.

A real flute from a bird bone

In a cave called Hohle Fels in Germany, scientists found a flute made from the wing bone of a griffon vulture, a huge bird. It has finger holes and a notch to blow across. It is about 40,000 years old and was made by early modern humans, people like us.