The first prehistoric musical instrument. The most ancient musical instrument

German scientists published an article about an interesting find - an antique flute. According to paleontologists, the found tool was made about 35,000 years ago during the colonization of Europe by modern people. To date, this flute is the oldest musical instrument ever discovered by man.

Researchers say that music was especially common in prehistoric times. Scientists suggest that it was she who became a contributing factor in the development of human personality. Perhaps, thanks to music, the Neanderthal moved to another higher stage of his development. A team of researchers from the University of Tübingen has published a report of flutes found in old caves in southwest Germany. This cave has become widely known due to the fact that from time to time archaeologists discover in it evidence that people previously lived here. In May last year, members of the same archaeological group discovered a statue in the same cave, which today is one of the oldest previously discovered objects belonging to ancient people.

The best preserved flute was made from the bone of a vulture's wing. What is this tool? This is a fairly long tube with two V-shaped notches at the end of the tool. As the researchers suggest, these are special holes so that the flute player can blow into the hole and reproduce the corresponding musical sounds. Fragments of the other two flutes are not as well preserved as the first.

However, scientists have determined that they are made of ivory, presumably taken from mammoth tusks. The total number of flutes found today is eight, of which four are made from mammoth tusks, and the other half from bird bones. As stated by Tubing University professor Nicola Conard, these kinds of finds indeed prove that music was widespread 40,000 years ago, when people began to settle in the territory of modern Europe. It is clear that music has been an integral part of human existence. Music has been used in many areas of life: religion, work. However, the main purpose of music to this day remains approximately the same as many years ago - to please people and significantly simplify some moments in people's lives.

Researchers also suggest that ancient people had a special creative spirit. This is why music was so important to them. She helped them every day in achieving their goals and mental development. As Professor Conard stated, modern people have been familiar with the visual arts and musical traditions for quite some time. To this day, scientists are faced with interesting finds, such as, for example, symbolic artifacts, images of mythological creatures, as well as various jewelry made many millennia ago.

Such finds help shed light on the social and everyday life of our distant ancestors. That is why all these objects, found in different places and at different times, are of great interest to science. Researchers argue that it was the early emergence of culture and art in human life that was the reason that the ancestors of early modern humans and Neanderthals survived in such difficult and harsh conditions.

Music and other forms of art could have made a significant contribution to the maintenance of many areas of life of ancient man. Perhaps it was culture and art that helped modern man when it came to the territorial and demographic expansion of Europe. It is worth noting that the Neanderthal population was much more conservative and isolated in terms of mental and territorial development. This is the point of view of the famous British researcher Professor Chris Stringer. It is worth noting that he is not alone in his opinion and judgment on this issue.

The found flutes are another confirmation of how different the development of the ancestors of modern humans and Neanderthals was, and how significant the difference was in the spiritual development of both species. It is possible that the traditions, art and culture of our ancestors go back much deeper. It is likely that music and other arts existed more than 50,000 years ago. But evidence of this has not yet been found. Scientists from many countries around the world are actively working on this.

Did you know that several years ago archaeologists discovered the oldest musical instrument? Do you think this is some kind of fossilized primitive proto-drum or prehistoric double bass from a mammoth skull? No matter how it is! Hurry up - under the cut!

It turns out that the most ancient musical instrument is

it's a flute!

In 2009, in one of the caves in southwestern Germany, archaeologists found the remains of an instrument reminiscent of the familiar flute:

Its age is more than 35 thousand years. This flute is 21.8 cm long and only 8 mm thick. Five round holes were punched in the body, which were closed with fingers, and at the ends there were two deep V-shaped cuts.

This flute, as you probably already guessed, is made not of wood, but of bone - here the opinions of scientists differ: some say that it is a bone from a swan's wing, others - a griffon vulture. This is the oldest, although not the first discovery of such a tool. Researchers believe that southwest Germany is the site of one of the first settlements of our European ancestors who came from Africa. Now they make assumptions that our prehistoric ancestors had a well-developed musical culture. ()

In general, flutes are not the only thing that archaeologists find. Among the ancient musical instruments at different times they found: bone pipes and flutes, animal horns, trumpets made of shells, drums made of animal skins, rattles made of stone and wood, musical [hunting] bows. The oldest musical instruments (flutes and tweeters) were found on the territory of modern Hungary and Moldova, and date back to the Paleolithic era - approximately 2522 thousand years BC, and the oldest musical notation - the 18th century BC, was found during excavations Sumerian city of Nippur (territory of modern Iraq).

During excavations at the site of primitive hunters in Ukraine, interesting discoveries were made. At the site of the plague they found a whole “orchestra”; there were so many ancient musical instruments there. Pipes and whistles were made from bone tubes. Rattles and rattles were carved from mammoth bones. Dry leather covered the tambourines, which hummed when struck by a mallet.

Obviously, the melodies performed on such musical instruments were very simple, rhythmic and loud. In one of the caves in Italy, scientists found footprints on fossilized clay. The tracks were strange: people either walked on their heels or jumped on tiptoes on both legs at once. This is easy to explain: a hunting dance was performed there. The hunters danced to menacing and exciting music, imitating the movements of powerful, dexterous and cunning animals. They chose words to the music and in songs they talked about themselves, about their ancestors, about what they saw around them.

Gradually more advanced musical instruments appeared. It turned out that if you stretch the skin over a hollow wooden or clay object, the sound will become louder and stronger. This is how the ancestors of drums and timpani were born. (

Surprisingly, the first musical instrument is considered to be the person himself, and the sound he makes is his own voice. Primitive people, using their voices, informed their fellow tribesmen about their emotions and transmitted information. At the same time, in order to add brightness to their story, they clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and knocked with stones or sticks. Gradually, ordinary objects surrounding a person began to transform into musical instruments.

According to the method of producing sounds, musical instruments can be divided into percussion, wind and strings. How and when man first began to use objects to create music is unknown. But historians suggest the following development of events.

Percussion instruments were made from carefully dried animal skins and a variety of hollow objects: large fruit shells, large wooden blocks. People hit them with sticks, palms, and fingers. The extracted melodies were used in ritual ceremonies and military operations.

Wind instruments were made from animal horns, bamboo and reed reeds, and hollow animal bones. Such objects became a musical instrument when a person thought of making special holes in them. In the southwest of Germany, the remains of an ancient flute were found, the age of which exceeds 35 thousand years! Moreover, there are references to such tools in ancient rock paintings.

The hunting bow is considered the first stringed instrument. An ancient hunter, pulling the bowstring, noticed that when he plucked it, it began to “sing.” And if you run your fingers along the stretched vein of the animal, it “sings” even better. The sound will be long if the vein is rubbed with animal hair. So a man came up with a bow and a stick with a tuft of hair stretched over it, which was moved along a string made of animal veins.

The most ancient, over 4,500 years old, are the lyre and the harp, which were used by many peoples of that time. Of course, it is impossible to say exactly what those ancient instruments looked like. One thing is clear: musical instruments, albeit quite primitive, were part of the culture of primitive people.

The Greek goddess of wisdom Athena invented the flute, the god Pan made the shepherd's pipe, and meanwhile the Indian god Narada invented and gave people a harp-shaped instrument - the veena. But these are just myths. Musical instruments were invented by people. This is not surprising, because man is the first musical instrument. And the sound he makes is his voice.

With his voice, primitive man conveyed information to his fellow tribesmen and reported his emotions: fear, joy, love. To make the “song” more interesting, he stomped his feet and clapped his hands, knocked stone on stone and hit the stretched mammoth skin. Thus, objects surrounding a person began to turn into musical instruments.

If you divide the instruments according to the method of extracting sound from them, you will get three groups– drums, winds and strings. So why did primitive man knock, what did he blow and what did he pull? We don't know what exactly the first musical instruments were, but we can guess.

The first percussion instruments were made from dried animal skins and all kinds of hollow objects: wooden blocks, shells of large fruits, and later clay pots. They hit them in different ways: with fingers, palms, sticks. Ancient drums and tambourines were used in ritual ceremonies and military operations. And African tribes even communicated with each other at a distance through combat.

Next group – winds. It is not known why the ancient man blew into a piece of bamboo, a reed reed, a horn or a hollow bone of an animal, but it became an instrument when special holes appeared. On the territory of modern Hungary and Moldova, pipes and tweeters are found that date back to the Upper Paleolithic era. And the most ancient instrument is considered to be a flute, found in southwest Germany. More precisely, these are the remains of an instrument resembling a flute made from swan bone, which is more than 35 thousand years old! In rock paintings you can also find images of the first wind instruments.

The first string instrument It is considered to be a hunting bow. While pulling the bowstring, the ancient hunter noticed that when he plucked it, the bowstring “singed.” And the stretched vein of the animal “sings” even better, and most importantly longer, if you rub it with the hair of the animal. This is how the bow appeared, a stick with a tuft of horsehair stretched over it, which was driven along a string made from twisted animal sinew, and later from silk threads. This divided string instruments into plucked and bowed instruments. Also, ancient people noticed that strings stretched over a hollow object resonated - they sounded louder and richer. The resonator can be a clay vessel, a dried pumpkin, but, of course, wood sounds best.

The most ancient stringed instruments are the lyre and the harp. Similar instruments are found among all ancient peoples. Ur harps are the oldest stringed instruments found by archaeologists. They are over 4500 years old!

The truth is that we cannot say exactly what the first musical instrument looked like, but it is certain that music, even in its primitive form, was part of the life of primitive man!

1899 Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel “Pan”

The truth is that we cannot name the first musical instrument, since all primitive people throughout the world seem to have created some kind of music. It was usually music with some kind of religious meaning, and the audience became participants in it. They danced, drummed, clapped and sang along with her. This wasn't just done for fun. This primitive music was a significant part of people's lives.

The legend of Pan and the reed suggests how man came up with the idea of ​​​​making so many different musical instruments. He may have imitated the sounds of nature or used the objects around him to create his music.

The first musical instruments were percussion instruments (like a drum).

Later, man invented wind instruments made from animal horns. From these primitive wind instruments, modern brass instruments developed. As man developed his musical sense, he began to use reeds and thus produced more natural and gentle sounds.

In 2009, an expedition led by archaeologist Nicholas Conard from the University of Tübengen discovered the remains of several musical instruments. During excavations in the Hols Fels cave in Germany, scientists discovered four bone flutes. The most interesting find is a 22-centimeter flute, which is 35 thousand years old.
The flute has 5 holes for producing sounds and a mouthpiece.
These finds show that Neanderthals already knew how to make musical instruments. This circumstance allows us to take a different look at the world of primitive man; it turns out that music in his world played an important role.

Finally, man invented the simple lyre and harp, from which bowed instruments came. The lyre was the most significant stringed instrument of ancient Greece and Rome, along with the lyre. According to myth, the lyre was invented by Hermes. To make it, Garmes used a tortoise shell; for the antelope horn frame.

In the Middle Ages, the crusaders brought many amazing oriental musical instruments from their campaigns. Combined with folk instruments that already existed in Europe at that time, they developed into many instruments that are now used to play music.

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