Ongoing History Daily: Is this the world’s oldest musical instrument?

Homo sapiens have been around as a species for about 300,000 years and during that time, we developed an appreciation for music. No one knows why, how, or when, but neurologists tell us that our brains have become prewired specifically for music. At some point, we started composing and performing music.

Archeologists say that the earliest example of a musical instrument dates back at least 33,000 years. A dig in a cave in southwest Germany uncovered the fragments of three flutes made from the bones of a vulture. One was almost completely intact, measuring about 20 centimetres long with five finger holes and a v-shaped mouthpiece. Scientists think it would have been held and played like a recorder.

The discovery of these instruments indicates that humans started making music far earlier than first thought.