The oldest musical instrument in the world – a 12,000-year-old flute

A French-Israeli research team has found a 12,000-year-old flute in Israel.

It may be the world’s oldest evidence of hunting sounds, says researcher Dr. Hamoudi Al-Khalili for the BBC.

The researchers thought they had found bird skeletons, but upon closer examination, they discovered that the bones they found had holes in them. It turned out to be flutes from the Stone Age.

– They are the only ones in the world that have been preserved in this state, says D. Hamoudi Khalili, who conducts research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for the BBC.

The discovery was made in the Wadi Hawla wetland area, which is a stopover for millions of birds from different parts of the world.

In addition, it was also a Neolithic settlement area, where hunter-gatherers lived during the Natufian culture, a prehistoric Neolithic culture that existed around 11,000 – 8,500 BC. in the Levant.

– says d. Hamoudi Al-Khalili for the BBC.

According to Nature Science, one theory is that hunters who were close to waterfowl used the flute to mimic the calls of birds of prey, especially the sparrowhawk and warbler. When predators appeared, the water-borne birds would take off in different directions, giving hunters a better chance of catching them.