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35,000-Year-Old Flute Is Oldest Music Instrument Ever Found

Posted by timothy on from the old-earth-theory dept.

Omomyid writes "The AFP is reporting the discovery of a 35,000 year-old flute, made from a vulture wing bone. The context described makes it sound like a musician's shop. There were also fragments of ivory-based flutes and flint tools. Being at least 35KYO this bone flute beats the previous oldest-known musical instrument by at least 5,000 years and puts it very close to the beginning of the Aurignacian culture."

139 comments

  1. My Heavens! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Funny

    That flute is -29,000 years old!

  2. Interesting! by squiggly12 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It makes a person wonder just how long ago music was enjoyed (besides whistling or singing) or did we just grunt our way around?

    1. Re:Interesting! by causality · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It makes a person wonder just how long ago music was enjoyed (besides whistling or singing) or did we just grunt our way around?

      The more I learn about the subject, the more convinced I am that the ancients were not the unsophisticated primitives that we often imagine them to be.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    2. Re:Interesting! by An+anonymous+Frank · · Score: 1

      I am also thinking that plenty of much older bones and sticks were also used as percussion instruments.

    3. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Or that we are not the sophisticated advanced species we often imagine us to be?

    4. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The more I learn about the subject, the more convinced I am that the ancients were not the unsophisticated primitives that we often imagine them to be.

      Amen to that! There is little evidence that we are biologically different in any significant way to the humans of 30,000 years ago. I would think that the only difference between humans across time and place for the past several tens of thousands of years is our accumulated cultural knowledge during the intervening time.

      There's little reason to believe that our ancestors, going quite far back, had any less inherent intellectual, cultural or social capacity than us. (Other than what we might have from superior nutrition, health, etc. See Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel for that...)

    5. Re:Interesting! by tcopeland · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > The more I learn about the subject, the more convinced I am that
      > the ancients were not the unsophisticated primitives that
      > we often imagine them to be.

      G. K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man has some thoughts along the same lines. From this page:

      It may be that in certain savage tribes the chief is called the Old Man and nobody is allowed to touch his spear or sit on his seat. It may be that in those cases he is surrounded with superstitious and traditional terrors; and it may be that in those cases, for all I know, he is despotic and tyrannical. But there is not a grain of evidence that primitive government was despotic and tyrannical.

      --
      The Army reading list
    6. Re:Interesting! by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      the more convinced I am that the ancients were not the unsophisticated primitives that we often imagine them to be.

            A quick trip to the countryside (of any nation) should change your mind. There are still plenty of unsophisticated primitives hanging around, and most of them would have no idea what to do with this rudimentary instrument besides scratch their backs with it.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    7. Re:Interesting! by BlackCreek · · Score: 3, Informative

      There's little reason to believe that our ancestors, going quite far back, had any less inherent intellectual, cultural or social capacity than us. (Other than what we might have from superior nutrition, health, etc. See Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel for that...)

      Jared's "The Third Chimpanzee" goes about how humans branched off and took a separate path from the "other chimps". In it he also goes speculates about how and when we took our great leap forward.

      While Guns Germs and Steel seemed a more insightful book, The Third Chimpanzee goes exactly about the evolutionary differentiation that made us, how different (or not) we are from chimps and other mammals, and about the plausible evolutionary explanations for these differences.

    8. Re:Interesting! by snl2587 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      But what's really interesting about this flute is that the harmonics are very close to a modern-day flute - 35,000 years later! There is a sample of the recreated sound right now on the New York Times website (permalink)...

    9. Re:Interesting! by SlashDotDotDot · · Score: 2, Funny
      For what it's worth, the New York Times article about it has an audio clip of a replica being played. I think it sounds surprisingly good.

      Friedrich Seeberger, a German specialist in ancient music, reproduced the ivory flute in wood. Experimenting with the replica, he found that the ancient flute produced a range of notes comparable in many ways to modern flutes. "The tones are quite harmonic," he said.

      --
      /...
    10. Re:Interesting! by moon3 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Pity TFA lacks more detail about the tonality. It would be interesting to know what notes it could produce, and what intervals, possibly indicating whether they leaned to minor or major scale for example..

    11. Re:Interesting! by FiloEleven · · Score: 1

      And none of the unsophisticated primitives you mention are more than 140 years old (I'm being very generous). That's some pretty big extrapolation you're relying on there.

      Besides, the coexistence of "primitives" and "moderns" today, indeed throughout recorded history, would tend to imply that there was such a variety then as well, would it not?

      --
      Your brain is not a computer.
    12. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, more discussion about the implications of ancient people using tonality in the first place would be welcome. aren't our modern musical intervals supposed to have been developed only a few thousand years ago?

    13. Re:Interesting! by Ian+Alexander · · Score: 1

      Dammit, why did I have to spend my last mod point on a throwaway "funny" mod in a different discussion an hour ago?

    14. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I think you just proved AC's point.

    15. Re:Interesting! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      "that we often imagine them to be."

      Speak for yourself. I have always envied them their mammoth hunting skils, their survival training and their fluent Indo-European. Hell, man, anyone who can pronounce words like "gnhjotam" or "wlnexmi" without asphyxiating deserves some respect.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    16. Re:Interesting! by rainmaestro · · Score: 1

      They really weren't. If my Anthropology degree did anything, it made me realize how absurd the portrayal of our ancestors really is. They weren't really like Captain Caveman or the Flintstones.

      But, this is what happens when we let media shape our view. Jump forward to more modern times. I remember a survey taken as part of a study by one of my college professors. When approx. 600 native Floridians were asked to estimate how long Florida had been occupied, less than 5% were within 1,000 years of the currently accepted estimate. Hell, I remember one of my history books from middle school claimed Neanderthals had the mental capacity of a 10-year-old.

    17. Re:Interesting! by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Almost like the laws of physics haven't changed at all!

      Same size shaft, holes, and lengths will produce nearly the same frequency.
      Add to it that there is a range which most people find pleasant, and it's not surprise at all.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    18. Re:Interesting! by evilviper · · Score: 1

      But what's really interesting about this flute is that the harmonics are very close to a modern-day flute - 35,000 years later!

      Brass and wood-wind musical instruments are substantially influenced by the player. A person with no pitch can't play a flute well, for example, though they could still be a good violinist.

      It's likely any tonal similarities are due to the modern musician's training, rather than the instrument itself.

      --
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    19. Re:Interesting! by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      It makes a person wonder just how long ago music was enjoyed (besides whistling or singing) or did we just grunt our way around?

      The more I learn about the subject, the more convinced I am that the ancients were not the unsophisticated primitives that we often imagine them to be.

      They really weren't. Well, at least, some of them weren't. That's why you should respect your elders. ;-)

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    20. Re:Interesting! by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Almost like entertainment TV and movies got it wrong..shocking~

      "Hell, I remember one of my history books from middle school claimed Neanderthals had the mental capacity of a 10-year-old.
      The mental capacity of a 10 year old is far greater then people seem to imagine.
      Hell, the other day I got a 50mW 532nm laser, and my 8 year old looked at a spinning fan and asked if the laser could be used to measure the fans speed.
      I said yes and she said Then it can be used to measure the speed of the laser.

      The hole conversation took place within the first 5 second of showing the laser to her.

      Yeah, kids are F'n smart.

      I'm sure the book meant it in a derogatory manner, but still.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    21. Re:Interesting! by NotBornYesterday · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think you miss the point. The old flute sounds close to modern flutes. When you consider the broad range of instruments and musical scales (think "non-western") in the world, having prehistoric and modern instruments whose notes are "quite harmonic" falls somewhere between interesting and amazing.

      When you say "... most people find pleasant...", you are right on the edge of a rather profound idea. The laws of physics haven't changed, but people certainly have. Does this mean that what they found pleasant and what we find pleasant are similar? Does that mean that musical perception is largely unchanged in the last 35 millenia?

      --
      I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
    22. Re:Interesting! by Ian+Alexander · · Score: 1

      That was not lost on me :)

    23. Re:Interesting! by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      Brass and wood-wind musical instruments are substantially influenced by the player. A person with no pitch can't play a flute well, for example, though they could still be a good violinist.

      What? Violins are very easy to change the pitch, simply from slightly "missing." In my experience (as a brass player, music major, etc), violinists have to have better pitch or they sound awful. A mediocre flautist is more bearable than a mediocre violinist.

      In fact, one of my cellist friends in school commented that he had to be able to sing every note he played on the cello, or he wouldn't hit it in tune.

    24. Re:Interesting! by u38cg · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Not quite sure why you got a funny...but never mind. Listening to the sound sample on the NYT site (linked in the comments somewhere above), the player pulled a straight major pentatonic scale out of it. Interestingly, the previously oldest known woodwind instrument (unearthed somewhere near Ur and c.5000 years old was also apparently pentatonic. Given the care that went into constructing these flute, I don't think that's an accident.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    25. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No offense, but according to the article you linked, the sample is from a different replica flute -- an ivory one found in 2004. Also, the article didn't say that the flute produced harmonics similar to a modern-day flute, but that the range of notes was comparable.

      Friedrich Seeberger, a German specialist in ancient music, reproduced the ivory flute in wood. Experimenting with the replica, he found that the ancient flute produced a range of notes comparable in many ways to modern flutes. âoeThe tones are quite harmonic,â he said.

      A replica is yet to be made of the recent discovery, but...

    26. Re:Interesting! by kalirion · · Score: 1

      I thought Xenu's Galactic Confederacy was supposed to be rather advanced, and that was 75 million years ago!

    27. Re:Interesting! by geekoid · · Score: 0

      People haven't changed as much as people like to believe.

      "Does this mean that what they found pleasant and what we find pleasant are similar? "

      I believe that to be true. The assembly of the note order may be different, but the specif frequency peple seem to like wouldn't.

      For example: I don't think primitive man would enjoy a loud prolonged shrill anymore then you or I would. This explains why the flute was buried...ZING!

      "Does that mean that musical perception is largely unchanged in the last 35 millenia?"

      I am speaking of specif frequency range, not the order of the notes.
      TO me it is quite obvious culture plays a role in defining music both creating new from old, applying new technologies to old, and forcing certain kinds of music to be appreciated.

      I do believe that if our ancestors from 35K ago were brought forward, there is music they would enjoy. I mean, after the shock of hot running water, TV and the fact that we still allow people to play the flute.. ZING.

      Sorry, it's just too easy to bag on flautist; which makes sense because they are generally easy to bag~

      Note: I would make these same jokes with any instrument, I don't have anything against flute players.
      fooled you, not Zing on that one.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    28. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The article didn't say the flute sounded close to modern flutes, but that it had a comparable range. A hollow tube is naturally "quite harmonic", so in that regard, I am not impressed. As for people changing, the way the human hearing system perceives musical tones is pathological. The neural connections to the amygdala and the cerebellum are also likely to have been genetically encoded for millennia, so harmonic musical notes have probably been similarly pleasing over the last 35,000 years. This is a fascinating discovery, and I am very excited about it, but I just want to point out that it isn't terribly surprising that an ancient flute has a "comparable range" to a modern flute and is "quite harmonic".

    29. Re:Interesting! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Just because no tapes of casting shows survived doesn't mean they didn't have any.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    30. Re:Interesting! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      It sure was. And now look what we savages have made out of it...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    31. Re:Interesting! by apoc.famine · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For awhile now I've been wondering about the connection between music and religion. For several thousand years, the most common place to hear a serious musical performance was at a religious ceremony. (Unless you were nobility)
       
      A pipe organ in a cathedral is a staggeringly amazing experience even for those of us able to find and listen to recordings ahead of time. Imagine the reaction of the poor common folk who had nothing but a reed flute and some singing in a grass hut to prepare them for it.
       
      As much as video killed the radio star, I wonder how much recorded music killed religion. (See the Taliban, who ban it, for instance.)

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    32. Re:Interesting! by bcrowell · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But what's really interesting about this flute is that the harmonics are very close to a modern-day flute - 35,000 years later! There is a sample of the recreated sound right now on the New York Times website

      Thanks for the cool link :-) You're misusing the terminology a little -- the original NYT article is more correct.

      Every sound can be broken down into a sum of sine waves. Usually, for basic physical reasons, those sine waves have frequencies that are all integer multiples (or nearly integer multiples) of the fundamental frequency. When they have this integer-multiple relationship, they're called "harmonics;" the more general term for the case where they're not integer multiples (anharmonic) is "partials." Any wind instrument that's made out of an air column is going to have integer-multiple harmonics, not anharmonic partials. So when you say that the harmonics are close to a modern flute, that's not really a useful statement; trivially, for physical reasons, any tone played on any wind instrument is going to have the same harmonics as the same note played on any other wind instrument. The only thing that will be different is the strengths of the harmonics.

      What the expert quoted in the NYT article says is "The tones are quite harmonic." This is a different statement. It means that if you had two flutes like this one, and you played combinations of notes, they would sound good together. This has to do with how the scale is constructed. He also doesn't say the scale is the same as any particular modern one, just that it's a scale that sounds good in relation to itself.

      The only cross-cultural universal we see today is that all cultures have what's called octave identification, meaning that, e.g., middle C and the C an octave above it are perceived as being similar, and able to play the same musical function. Most cultures don't have harmony at all -- that's mainly a function of Western music. Different cultures generally don't use the same scales. E.g., Beethoven, a Javanese gamelan orchestra, and a Delta blues musician use different scales in different ways. It wouldn't even make sense to interpret the expert's quote as saying that the scale is the same as today's scale, there's more than one scale used today.

      Unfortunately I couldn't get the sound widget to play in my browser.

      --
      Find free books.
    33. Re:Interesting! by NotBornYesterday · · Score: 1

      When it comes to music, I am an admitted idiot, and unable to easily express this idea that is banging around my head right now. But I'll try.

      This guy explains part of it nicely. Granted, the page is speaking about string rather than wind instruments, but the ideas of harmonics is the important part. Basically, the frequency of harmonic notes will be mathematically related in some fashion.

      Now, there is nothing absolute about a musical note. Sure, in western scales, notes are defined as having a particular frequency, but that is largely arbitrary. "A" is defined as a multiple of 27.5 hz, (double the frequency, you go up an octave) but I could tune my guitar's A string to an arbitrary frequency - say a multiple of 26 hz. Then, if I tune the rest of my guitar to that string, the chords I play would sound fine ... as long as no one else isn't playing with me, because then we wouldn't be in harmony.

      Now, if they tuned their A string to match mine, and so on with the rest of their instrument, we could play together and sound fine to anyone listening, because we would be in harmony, that is, the fundamental and harmonic tones of the notes on our instruments would be in sync.

      To me, that is the amazing thing about this discovery. If I read the article correctly, this thing came out of the ground with a tuning that is closely related to the scale we use now, even though the frequencies are essentially arbitrary.

      --
      I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
    34. Re:Interesting! by Pflipp · · Score: 1

      Does that mean that musical perception is largely unchanged in the last 35 millenia?

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa

      --
      "We can confirm that Debian does *not* ship the version with the trojan horse. Our version predates it." [CA-2002-28]
    35. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to be harsh, but you didn't read the article correctly. The article only said the flute had a comparable range and that the flute was quite harmonic (ie: its holes were spaced fairly accurately). There was no claim whatsoever that the flute was tuned to A440 or otherwise. Even if it had, it wouldn't mean anything because A440 was only fairly recently standardised and it isn't even universally followed (many orchestras still tune to A442 or higher).

    36. Re:Interesting! by NotBornYesterday · · Score: 1

      See, I told you I was an idiot when it comes to music. I read that wrong, I guess.

      --
      I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
    37. Re:Interesting! by bcrowell · · Score: 1

      Pity TFA lacks more detail about the tonality. It would be interesting to know what notes it could produce, and what intervals, possibly indicating whether they leaned to minor or major scale for example..

      The major/minor system is less than a thousand years old, and only occurs in Western music.

      --
      Find free books.
    38. Re:Interesting! by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Pipe organs were the new music entertainment technology that got people in.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    39. Re:Interesting! by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      If my degree taught me anything it's how little experts know about things outside their field. Such as the anthropologists/archeologists who ridiculed Luz Antequera Congregado for suggesting the famous Hall of Bulls was a prehistoric planetarium

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    40. Re:Interesting! by Nazlfrag · · Score: 1

      Indeed, clapsticks (sticks that hit each other as opposed to a drum) are probably quite ancient, but it would be hard to distinguish their remains as an instrument rather than a tool.

    41. Re:Interesting! by Ripit · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Disclaimer - IAPOM. I am a professional orchestral musician.

      "Harmonics" doesn't really mean anything in this sense. Flutes don't play two notes simultaneously, so there is no harmony. This flute is capable of playing at least 5 distinct pitches, or at least 10 if you count overblowing to get a higher octave. The notes in the example are Eb, F, G, Bb, and C, which is a pentatonic scale.

      This is the most amazing thing to me. The pentatonic scale's pitches have the simple frequency ratios of 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3. Instruments designed to play this scale have been found almost everywhere humans play music. The person that made this instrument perceived, through sound, these simple mathematical ratios. 35,000 years ago, humans had already discovered the beauty in mathematics.

      Also, I can draw the conclusion that the person that made this flute had made flutes previously, or learned from someone who did. The chances of gouging holes in a bone at random and having a very accurate pentatonic scale along with a serviceable embouchure hole in the end product is vanishingly small. This skill is learned by trial and error or instruction. This opens up more questions. If the maker of this flute didn't invent the pentatonic scale, who did? How old is the scale?

    42. Re:Interesting! by Ripit · · Score: 1

      Almost like the laws of physics haven't changed at all!

      I think you missed the point. The amazing thing is that 35,000 years ago, we understood, in a simple way, this specific law of physics.

      Same size shaft, holes, and lengths will produce nearly the same frequency.

      Well, this flute doesn't have the same size shaft, holes, and length as a modern Western flute. This flute is much smaller. But it's not surprising that the modern flute shares part of its range with it. The modern flute has a 3 1/2+ octave range and is capable of extreme dynamics, incredible pitch accuracy, and quick technical facility, thanks to 35,000+ years worth of mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and artistry. The surprise in this story is that people were playing pentatonic scales 35,000 years ago, and had refined instruments to do it.

    43. Re:Interesting! by adamgolding · · Score: 1

      You're right that the GP is misusing the word 'harmonics', but the NYT article is probably not talking about combinations of tones produced by two flues when they say 'harmonic' either--they probably just mean that the scale itself sounds 'nice', which actually follows the more ancient sense of the word 'harmonics' which, for the ancient Greeks, was the study of tunings, temperaments, and scale designs. In other words, the scale sounds like modern music because it's a pentatonic scale.

      Which brings me to what you were saying about music universals--there is, indeed, much cultural variation, but there are a number of commonalities--the pentatonic scale, is actually supposed to have been arrived at independently in many cultures, which isn't that surprising because it's what you get if you iterate the 'simplest' interval other than the octave, and the diatonic scales come from iterating that twice more.

      There are also lots of universals about interval choice--melodically or harmonically, simple ratio intervals like 5ths are usually preferred, and you aren't going to find a culture that prefers minor 9th leaps to perfect 5th leaps, except Webern et al., of course.

      There are also general cognitive constraints--for instance, most cultures have 5-7 note scales, which is supposedly tied to the size of working memory.

    44. Re:Interesting! by Ripit · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm a tenured professional orchestra musician. I'll try to explain.

      NotBornYesterday's conclusion was dead on! The AC is also correct.

      In the example, the ancient flute played the pitches Eb, F, G, Bb, and C, which is a simple pentatonic scale. When in this particular order, it's called a major pentatonic scale. It's incidental that the pitches are close to these modern pitches (AC's point). The important thing is the distance from one pitch to the next, or in other words, the ratio of one pitch to another (NBY's point).

      The ratios in the pentatonic scale are 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3. So if you set Eb as 1, F is 9/8 of Eb, G is 5/4 of Eb, Bb is 3/2 of Eb, and C is 5/3 of Eb. The ratios are what is important. The absolute value of the pitch in Hertz is incidental. The maker of this flute understood these ratios, and constructed the flute accordingly.

      The fact that people were using the pentatonic scale 35,000 years ago or more is stunning.

    45. Re:Interesting! by codeButcher · · Score: 1

      I own a couple of flutes and recorders of various sizes (no, I'm not playing nearly on a professional level). While one can arbitrarily tune a flute and space the holes accordingly, some tunings are just more comfortable to play than others due to hand size.

      --
      Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
    46. Re:Interesting! by Ripit · · Score: 1

      I am a tenured professional orchestra musician.

      The example shows clearly an accurate major pentatonic scale. The pitches are Eb, F, G, Bb, and C. The proximity to modern pitch is incidental, as pitch has been standardized for only a couple hundred years. The important thing is the distance between the pitches, or the ratio of one pitch to the rest. The pentatonic scale has ratios of 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3, meaning if Eb is given the value of 1, F is 9/8 of Eb, G is 5/4 of Eb, Bb is 3/2 of Eb, and C is 5/3 of Eb. To construct an instrument that can play exactly (apparently exclusively) this scale shows, even if only through sound, an understanding of the mathematics underlying the scale.

      The chance of constructing an instrument that happens to produce these exact ratios is impossibly small. Considering this and that it has a functionally placed embouchure hole opens up more possibilities. The person who made this instrument had made them before, or was taught by someone who had, or made it in imitation of something already seen. Now we know the pentatonic scale, which has been found all over the world is at least 35,000 years old. That's staggering.

    47. Re:Interesting! by davros-too · · Score: 1

      Great comment, sorry I don't have mod points today!

      --
      In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice; in practice there is.
    48. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      And I'm a neuroscientist who has focussed on the hearing mechanism and music perception.

      The phenomenon of music perception (distinguishing between sustained pitches and transient noise) is pathologically based; it is a by-product of the hearing mechanism's construction. And not only do vibrating strings or columns of air have harmonic overtones, but even pure tones will resonate in the cochlea at the harmonic frequencies (e.g.: a 200Hz pure tone will also activate the neurons associated with 400Hz and 600Hz). The synchronicity between the firing patterns in the cochlea due to overlapping harmonics (a 200Hz tone and a 300Hz tone will share a harmonic at 600Hz, for example) indicate the level of consonance, which is why a perfect 5th sounds more consonant than a minor 2nd or an augmented 4th. The experience of consonance/dissonance is entirely pathologically based. Our preference for these chords is more complicated and emotional and can change over time, but in general, we prefer consonant intervals.

      The point being, our hearing mechanism (which has remained relatively unchanged for most likely hundreds of thousands of years) chose the intervals we prefer and led to the development of the pentatonic scale through trial-and-error based on which intervals sounded "better", not due to an understanding of the ratios involved. Humans have been making music long before Pythagoras, even using non-pentatonic scales.

      I am not trying to brush off this find -- I think it is wonderful -- but I am not at all surprised that people 35,000 years ago were using the pentatonic scale, because our gravitation towards the pentatonic scale is based solely on biology and immutable physical properties.

      For an easy-to-digest discussion of this, I recommend "How We Hear Music" by James Beament.

    49. Re:Interesting! by geekoid · · Score: 1

      I would suspect those scales exist becasue of the size of the hand, and because of how they sound. Not because someone mathematically figured it out; that came later.

      I don't think people started playing music after the figured out the physics and math. I'm pretty sure people created music and the exact math was applies to what they have found to be what people play.

      Aren't those scales likely to be used by anyone looking to make a comfortable flute to play?

      Considering it is highly likely that this is the first flute, then it becomes more likely that the flute is similar.
      Or maybe Arthur Dent made it.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    50. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Harmonics" doesn't really mean anything in this sense. Flutes don't play two notes simultaneously, so there is no harmony.

      ...that's not what harmonics means...

    51. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Finally, someone is going in the right direction with this...

      I don't understand why more people aren't boggled by this... Either ancient unexplained knowledge or ancient unexplained biological tendencies that we literally have built in as a species (or sub-species) caused these people at the 'dawn of time' to respond to a particular set of mathematical intervals that caused a mental/emotional response so very favorable that in a time where survival must have been a pretty much full time gig, at lease some people were spending large amounts of time creating tools to create these sounds... and these sounds (which, doesn't the pentatonic scale also have some relationship to phi?) just so happen to in this example be one of (if not 'the') the most important & often implemented scales in a large section of world music (western).

      yay humans =D

    52. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It just means the scale we use now is likely to be a lot older than the notation used to describe it. (So the scale wasn't invented by Gregorian monks or some people in Italy way back, it's actually much much older.) This is a lot like some languages where the spoken words predate the invention of an alphabet and writing by who knows how many generations. The fact that something like that may be that old might be an interesting find in comparison to the development of "modern" language that predates writing.

    53. Re:Interesting! by Anonym1ty · · Score: 1

      I think you may be missing a little here.

      What is amazing isn't that the flute doesn't make an annoying shrill, but that it's scale is similar to ours.

      Beyond us having 12 tones in a scale, the temperament. Simply, the spacing in pitch between the tones.

      Even in modern tones we have many examples of different tuning and different scales.

      The most common scale and temperament people today recognize is the 12 tones in equal temperament (12-TET). That is the notes are divided equally into 12 steps between the fundamental frequency and its second harmonic. This isn't true for other temperaments. In Equal Temperament it A# and Bb are the same note. That isn't always true for other temperaments. There are pianos made with a split key there, because if you play the wrong one in the wrong musical key it sounds awful or even makes a wolf-tone (what you may call a shrill).

      Add to that little bit in western music, modern eastern musical scales and tuning can be vastly different than what we use commonly.

      Similar musical tuning and scales implies (doesn't prove) similar harmony and musical constructs.

      The music played on that flute may have been more similar to modern western music than Japanese, Arab, Chinese, Aboriginal or Indian music based on its design.

      --
      See the Pictures of the Flood of '08
    54. Re:Interesting! by Ripit · · Score: 1

      Interesting replies.

      I'll merely point out that instruments other than flute are constructed to make the pentatonic scale simple to play - the black notes on the keyboard are the most obvious. The scale, and the pitches exist independently of the instruments that produce them.

      The AC's post regarding perception of harmonics in the brain bears this out. The pentatonic scale offers all the consonant intervals, leaving out only minor seconds and augmented fourths. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that people perceived consonance 35,000 years ago.

    55. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You write like a cunt. Stop it.

    56. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The phenomenon of music perception (distinguishing between sustained pitches and transient noise) is pathologically based

      It's related to a disease?

    57. Re:Interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Harmonics" doesn't really mean anything in this sense. Flutes don't play two notes simultaneously, so there is no harmony.

      All instruments play several notes simultaneously. The only thing that doesn't is an electronic wave generator.

  3. This one time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This one time, 35,000 years ago at band camp...

    1. Re:This one time by Albert+Sandberg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ... no stairway. denied.

    2. Re:This one time by dkleinsc · · Score: 2, Informative

      Come on, this far in and there have been absolutely know "playing the bone flute" jokes?

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    3. Re:This one time by JCSoRocks · · Score: 1

      Apparently you missed the first reply to the first comment in the thread...

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    4. Re:This one time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ROTFL

    5. Re:This one time by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Sorry I was busy fluting my playing bone.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  4. I doubt it's the oldest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I bet people have been playing the skin flute for far longer

    1. Re:I doubt it's the oldest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Give the coward a bone! :-)

    2. Re:I doubt it's the oldest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's a skin flute, precious?

    3. Re:I doubt it's the oldest by SlashWombat · · Score: 1

      Obviously, the flute was only one instrument used by a prehistoric Rock group!

  5. Is it april 1st again already? by Hanzie · · Score: 0, Troll

    This really sounds like an april fools joke. If it's accurate, it's interesting, because there were also painting tools and a "stunning" carved female figurine. So this place was either an arts university, or a nightclub. Probably a nightclub, since I don't think they had McDonalds back then to hire arts graduates.

    --
    ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
    1. Re:Is it april 1st again already? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      It's probably an arts university, in a nightclub you might have found a set of stones and two clubs to beat on them. They didn't have McDonald's back then, but they might have had a McOgg's megatherium steaks?

  6. Re:Flute by Klistvud · · Score: 1

    Yeah, it's incomplete. It should say: Apparently, the instrument has never been allowed to play music, as it was not RIAA-approved. The maker's skeleton found nearby without pelvis: obviously had his ass sued off.

    --
    Intellectual Property: an immaterial non-entity, most fiercely contended by those with no proper intellect to speak of.
  7. My ancestors used mammoth bones by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 2, Informative

    But then, we got those when we rode dinosaurs with Jesus.

    Mind you, it was hard lugging around a large mammoth flute.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  8. I'm Trying to Get Back to My Roots by eldavojohn · · Score: 1

    Like Eric Clapton releasing an album paying homage to the great blues guitarist Robert Johnson, my next album will be concentrating on my roots and be recorded entirely on thirty five thousand year old flutes using only the recording technology they had back then ... I predict this will appeal more to the older crowd and while a lot of the themes of the songs have anti-Cro Magnum themes, I think this sort of retro music is long overdue.

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:I'm Trying to Get Back to My Roots by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 1

      I predict this will appeal more to the older crowd and while a lot of the themes of the songs have anti-Cro Magnum themes, I think this sort of retro music is long overdue.

      Along with the flute was an inscription in a precursor hieroglyphic stating action would be taken over "making available" with an urge to settle early for a fee of three bison and a wife.

      --
      Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
    2. Re:I'm Trying to Get Back to My Roots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      anti-Cro Magnum themes

      Epic fail.

  9. Oblig YEC reesponse by MaXintosh · · Score: 2, Funny

    Obviously, the flute was burried by the flood. Because like dinosaurs, flutes were put there by the devil to fool us. Thus the phrase "devil music."

    1. Re:Oblig YEC reesponse by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Funny

      agreed. and if you listen to the 35,000 year old flute music backwards, you can hear satanic incantations hidden by "backwards boneflute masking"

    2. Re:Oblig YEC reesponse by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Funny

      And if you filmed the discovery of this flute and play it backwards, you see a team of scientist burying a flute for 35,000 years only to have it discovered by some primitive human, who then picks it up and starts playing it....

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    3. Re:Oblig YEC reesponse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Weird. We make the same joke (basically), except I'm modded "troll."

    4. Re:Oblig YEC reesponse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, he'd pick it up and start sucking on it, producing no sound at all.

      Perhaps that's why he buried it in the first place.

  10. Neanderthal invented musical instruments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is the oldest for the Homo sapiens, but there were flutes found on Neanderthal sites, much older flutes.
    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/376813/neanderthal_flute_the_oldest_musical.html

    1. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by dgatwood · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Mod parent up. Assuming that the linked article is correct, this recent find is at least 8,000 years newer than the oldest known flute, and possibly as much as 47,000 years newer. Of course, this may be the oldest definitively dated flute.

      What is fascinating about this is that it gives you just how far back primitive man was creating complex artistic works. I'm sure there are other instruments of similar vintage---drums and the like---though they may not have survived the years since. The funny part will be when scientists discover that they've underestimated the age of the xylophone family by the better part of a million years. :-) I mean really, if something requiring as much carving as a flute goes back 80,000 years, how absurd is it to believe that something as simple as a bunch of sticks cut to different lengths only goes back to 2,000 B.C.?

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Err... gives you an idea of just how far back....

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    3. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by sznupi · · Score: 1

      What is really fascinating about this is for how long our species was almost stagnant (from out point of view).

      And how rapidly we advance nowadays. What are the factors? Are we really nearing to tech singularity?

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    4. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by u38cg · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And I hate to be a tedious [citation needed] asshat, but I do wonder if there's any chance of a better cite than a three paragraph article on a self-publishing website?

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    5. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      My money is on food.

      Early human had to spend a lot of time to get his stomach filled. Not much time left to sit, think and invent. When you have plenty of food, you get your brains free for other things.

      Couple it with superstition (and today's more or less lack of it, at least in the scientific circles) and I think you have a pretty good explanation.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by the+phantom · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually most studies have shown that hunter-gatherer societies have a lot more leisure time than industrial or agrarian societies. On average, they might spend 2-4 hours per day procuring food, compared to 12 or more hours per day in an agrarian society, or 6-10 in an industrial society. Instead, there are a couple things that one should consider. First, look at the line plotted by an exponential curve. It starts very flat, then rises very quickly. Assuming that "progress" (however you measure it) is an exponential phenomenon, it would make sense that things would appear to be progressing faster now than 100 years ago, and that things 100 years ago would be progressing faster than things 1000 years ago, and so on.

      Secondly, consider the size of group sustainable by hunting and gathering. You simply cannot sustain the same population density hunting and gathering that you can with agriculture. Generally speaking, hunter-gatherers are quite mobile. Here, in the Great Basin, there might have been as few as 10 people per 100 square miles. In other parts of the world, where resources are more plentiful, densities might have been higher, but still not to the level of an agrarian society. Without high population densities, you are going to have less communication, and fewer people to collaborate on large projects.

      Furthermore, and here is the kicker, everyone in a hunter-gatherer level society needs to be a generalist. All of the men hunt. All of the women gather. The children help where they can. Each person is basically the same as another. Once horticulture and agriculture begin to develop, people are able to settle down more (thus, food stores can be laid in more easily), higher population densities can be maintained, and individuals can start working on something other pure subsistance activities. It is craft specialization that allows technology to progress.

      --
      Rhapsody in Numbers
    7. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by daenris · · Score: 1

      Well, you could try going to the citations from that "three paragraph" article which are at the bottom of page 2 and include articles in Science News and Discover magazine about the find.

    8. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Mod parent up. Assuming that the linked article is correct

      Well it isn't. It's been debunked about 20 trillion times.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    9. Re:Neanderthal invented musical instruments by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Are we really nearing to tech singularity?

      No. And what's more, this is not the dawning of the age of Aquarius.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  11. Still not the oldest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Skin flutes are much older.

  12. Complex vs Simple. by B5_geek · · Score: 2, Funny

    I understand that this could be considered definitive proof of an 'instrument', but surely they don't discount that beating two sticks together can be considered as being musical either.

    Consider this: prehistoric man had to be MORE intelligent to survive then modern man. If all electrical devices stop working tomorrow, a significant % of the population will be dead within 4 weeks.

    --
    "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
    1. Re:Complex vs Simple. by pluther · · Score: 2, Funny

      That doesn't point to a difference in intelligence, just a different set of needed skills.

      --
      If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
    2. Re:Complex vs Simple. by geekoid · · Score: 1

      prehistoric man had to be MORE intelligent to survive then modern man.

      No, thye did not.

      "..., a significant % of the population will be dead within 4 weeks."
      which has nothing to do with intelligence.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:Complex vs Simple. by Ian+Alexander · · Score: 1

      I think there's a difference in the level of thinking required to realize that you can bang two sticks together and seeking out a hollow stick of just the right dimensions and cutting holes at the appropriate intervals such that when you force air through it you can control the kind of sound it makes.

      Not that that means you're less intelligent for being happy with banging two sticks together (that's about the degree of musical aptitude I possess), but one obviously takes a little more forethought to produce. This just goes to show that the gulf between "primitive" humanity and "modern" humanity really ain't so great as we once thought. You're right, though- this probably wouldn't so much shed light on the origins of music so much as it fills in details of its early days. I believe musical instruments- including flutes- have been found at Neanderthal sites as well, and earlier than this one.

    4. Re:Complex vs Simple. by sznupi · · Score: 1

      Large % of population would be dead simply because there would be no place for them, no resources, in pre-industrial society.

      Are members of the "protected tribes" necessarily more intelligent?

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    5. Re:Complex vs Simple. by harl · · Score: 1

      Consider this: prehistoric man had to be MORE intelligent to survive then modern man. If all electrical devices stop working tomorrow, a significant % of the population will be dead within 4 weeks.

      You're confusing knowledge and intelligence.

      We're all capable of learning how to live off the land. We've simply never learned how due to lack of need.

      --
      I find being offended by me offensive.
  13. Cave Geeks? by filesiteguy · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, does this mean that the term "band geek" was discovered 35,000 years ago?

    I wonder if they wore underwear so that Ogg could give the owner of this flute a wedgie.

    --
    The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
    1. Re:Cave Geeks? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      What does underwear have to do with a music format?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Cave Geeks? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Given his name, and the rather rought times back then, he's probably been stuffed into a container with a few parts of him missing.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  14. Needs some inner light ... by xleeko · · Score: 2, Funny

    Psssft. Get back to me when the grad student who dug it out collapses into a coma and lives a lifetime as a paleolithic hunter, then wakes up and can play some good mammoth hunting songs ...

    1. Re:Needs some inner light ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I saw this in a documentary, they speculated that that primitive hunters would have made a lot of noise while hunting as homo-sapiens suck at stealth. Plus they hunted in packs and relied on confusing the prey to corner it. So heavy metal music would be appropriate for mammoth hunting :)

    2. Re:Needs some inner light ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd mark that ST:TNG reference as a "nice try, but could do better".

    3. Re:Needs some inner light ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I saw this in a documentary, they speculated that that primitive hunters would have made a lot of noise while hunting as homo-sapiens suck at stealth. Plus they hunted in packs and relied on confusing the prey to corner it. So heavy metal music would be appropriate for mammoth hunting :)

      mastadon while hunting for mastadons?

      BRILLIANT!

  15. Yo Mama is soooo old... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is a Skin flute older than a Vulture Bone flute joke in there somewhere...

  16. RiAA... by beodd · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Has the RIAA claimed ownership rights over the music they made with it?

    1. Re:RiAA... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mr.Glagh I'm sorry to inform you that my client Mr.Rawr owns the copyright on using two coconuts shells to generate sound on contact, achieved by applying kinetic energy to each towards a common center.

      If you do not cease banging coconuts immediately we'll be forced to confiscate all female members of your pack, kill all the males and take away your saber tooth collection.

    2. Re:RiAA... by beodd · · Score: 1

      LMFAO!!!!! hehehehe.... I love it! Not far from the truth. Check this out.. 1909!!!

      http://www.natch.net/stuff/78_license/

  17. That's neat and all, but I'd like to see... by TigerPlish · · Score: 1

    That flute is neat, and looks well made (chamfered holes?!)

    But what I'd love to see even more is a piece of 35,000 year old sheet music. That way, we'd know what they grooved to back when the earth was still cooling, and people walked to school uphill both ways in the snow, dontchaknow.

    Seriously. I wanna see the music.

    --
    The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
    1. Re:That's neat and all, but I'd like to see... by FiloEleven · · Score: 1

      You won't find any - that was before we got it in our heads that music was something to be written down, analyzed, and repeated ;)

      --
      Your brain is not a computer.
  18. Alert me! by GooDieZ · · Score: 0, Troll

    ...when they discover that this stuff is GPL... RIAA will be on the case soon :D

    --
    Things in a rear mirror might be behind you
  19. Journalism sucks by FeatherBoa · · Score: 1

    There is a serious problem with journalism here. From TFA,

    Nearly 22 centimetres (8.7 inches) long and 2.2 centimetres (one inch) in diameter

    The photograph clearly shows that the object in question is not more than 2/3 the diameter of the person's finger. This is NOT 2.2cm -- it is probably around 10mm to 12mm. So how much of ANY of the rest of the info in this article accurate?

  20. Re:Flute by sexconker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fail.
    Pelvis was obliterated due to snu-snu.

  21. Inner Light... by Palshife · · Score: 1

    So was the discoverer forced to live the life of one of the villagers in a simulation, learning the way of their culture and becoming richer for the experience?

    --
    Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
  22. South Germany = Cradle of civilization? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    In 2006, archaeologists in south Germany found the first art object known to man:

    http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/ivory-carvings-swabian-jura.htm

    Now the oldest instrument was found, also in south Germany.

    I guess this means civilization originated in Deutshland.

  23. Good question by geekoid · · Score: 1

    however looking at the original AP story, it doesn't mention the diameter.

    Anyways, the general answer to your question is 'check other reasonable sources.'

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090624/ap_on_sc/eu_germany_prehistoric_flute

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/24/international/i100006D91.DTL&tsp=1

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  24. Re:Flute by NotBornYesterday · · Score: 1

    More like:

    "35,000 year old flute found, RIAA proposes extending copyrights to protect original composer's intellectual property"

    --
    I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
  25. evolution of musical ability is open question by peter303 · · Score: 1

    A number of people think music co-evolved with language, but not sure why. Harvard Prof Pinker calls music an epiphenomenom- something that came along with the ride along with other more important cognitive abilities.

    Music ability appears to occupy other parts of the brain than language. Brain damage- (strokes, lesion) may damage one ability, but not the other. Some stutterers can sing or chant verse without stuttering.

  26. I'd like some hot chicks (and other flute jokes) by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    to date my bone flute.
    *giggity*

    How did they know it was a flute? There were carvings on the wall from people whining they could ahve done it better/

    How did they get two flutes in tune? they bashed the skull in of one of the bone flautists.

    Why did the neanderthal go extinct? to get away from the flute recital.

    How many bone Flautists did it taker to start a fire? 2 one to do it and another to push them into the fire.

    What do you call a flute that's been buried for 35000 years? A good start.

    2 flutists ride a mammoth over a cliff, what's the tragedy? you can fit 4 flutists on a mammoth.

    I can go on, but unlike a flautists I know when to stop.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  27. Minor correction by geekoid · · Score: 2, Funny

    "...who then picks it up and starts playing it....badly"

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:Minor correction by geekoid · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Troll! try Funny. Sheesh, who gave mod point to the flautist?
      I await whiny flautist reprisal telling my I'm a troll and that she is TO better then the other flute players.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Minor correction by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      We've both been around long enough to understand the counter-intuitive nature of mod point assignment...

      Still, after some consideration, I imagine the flautist would actually start sucking musical notes out of the air. Quite a feat for a primitive Homo sapiens.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    3. Re:Minor correction by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Hard to say. We don't know too much about their culture. At this time it seems they didn't need to spend as much time surviving as was once thought. This means down time and no TV. Like my childhood in the 70's.
      We had TV, but nothing A kid would watch during the day.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  28. Picard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Captain Picard's flute was older, no?

  29. We need a flute recital. by Drone69 · · Score: 1

    Mick Jagger, world's oldest musician, plays the world's oldest flute in a one-night only event from Carnegie Hall.

  30. I think you mean by geekoid · · Score: 1

    This one time, 35,000 years ago at band cave...

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  31. Why not 1000 years back? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Couldn't it happen that the "bone" was found 1000 years ago and the people at that time carved a flute out of it?

  32. Re:I'd like some hot chicks (and other flute jokes by Noel+Coward · · Score: 1

    I think you've cheated and used rehashed viola player jokes, which are well known to be over a million years old

    --
    . implicit all IIRC IM*HO £0.02 YM?V ;-) ...
  33. Interesting what ancient flutes were made from.. by xanadu113 · · Score: 1

    It's interesting what ancient flutes were made from...

    Now adays people are making them out of bamboo:

    http://www.thomasrichardsonmusic.com

    --
    -Myke
  34. So much history we don't know... by master_p · · Score: 1

    If humanity started 35,000 or more years ago...

    1. Re:So much history we don't know... by geekoid · · Score: 1

      And?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  35. Re:I'd like some hot chicks (and other flute jokes by geekoid · · Score: 1

    heheh.

    I want to find a girl that wants me to kiss her like I was playing a french horn...

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  36. TNG: The Inner light by ext42fs · · Score: 1

    Can't suppress remembering Star Trek Next Generation episode "The Inner Light". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inner_Light_(TNG_episode)

  37. An interesting fact by alexo · · Score: 1

    It shows that Homo Sapiens created music for over 33K years before the advent of copyrights.