Primitive Instrument Discovered

What could be one of the world’s first musical instruments was discovered in Germany recently, according to the Boston Globe. A flute, carved from bone and ivory, is estimated at approximately 35,000 years old.

(Daniel Maurer/ Associated Press)

The Globe reports: “The find suggests just how integral artistic expression may be to human existence: Music apparently flourished even in prehistoric days when mere survival was a full-time endeavor.”

Edward Hagen, an anthropologist at Washington State University in Vancouver who was not involved in the research says, “To see this early in the archeological record suggests it might be a fundamental aspect of human nature. . . . It does at least hint that music lies close to our foundation of common humanity.’’