Unbelievable facts
German scientists have published an article about an interesting find – an ancient flute. According to paleontologists, the tool found 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 found by man.
Researchers say that music was particularly common in prehistoric times. Scientists suggest that it has become a contributing factor in the development of a person's personality. Perhaps thanks to music, the Neanderthal man moved to another higher stage of his development. A team of researchers from the University of Tübingen has published a report on flutes found in old caves in southwestern Germany. This cave is widely known due to the fact that archaeologists from time to time find evidence that people used to live here. Last May, members of the same archaeological team discovered a statue in the same cave, which today is one of the oldest previously found objects belonging to ancient people.
The best preserved is a flute made from fretboard wing bone. What is this tool? This is a fairly long tube with two V-shaped cuts at the end of the instrument. According to the researchers, 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 have not survived as well as the first one.
However, scientists have accurately determined that they are made of ivory, presumably taken from mammoth tusks. The total number of flutes found to date is eight, of which four are made from mammoth tusks and the other half from bird bones. According to Nicholas Conard, a professor at the University of Tubing, such findings really prove that music was common 40,000 years ago, when people became settle in modern Europe. It is quite obvious that music has been an integral part of human existence. Music has been used in many areas of life: religion, work. In addition, the main purpose of music to this day remains about the same as it was many years ago — to please people and make some moments in people's lives much easier.
Researchers also suggest that ancient people had a special creative spirit. That's why music was so important to them. She helped them achieve their goals and mental development every day. According to Professor Conard, modern people have been familiar with art and musical traditions for quite some time. To date, scientists are faced with interesting finds, such as, for example, symbolic artifacts, images of mythological creatures, as well as various ornaments made by many millennia ago.
Such findings help shed light on the social and everyday life of our distant ancestors. That is why all these items, found in different places and at different times, are of great interest to science. Researchers say that it was the early appearance of culture and art in human life that was the reason why the ancestors of early modern humans and Neanderthals survived in such difficult and harsh conditions.
Music and other forms of art could make a significant contribution to maintaining many areas of ancient life. Perhaps it was culture and art that helped modern people when it came to the territorial and demographic expansion of Europe. It should be noted that the Neanderthal population was much more conservative and isolated in terms of mental and territorial development. This is the view of the famous British researcher Professor Chris Stringer. It should be noted that he is not alone in his opinion and judgments on this issue.
The flutes found are another confirmation of how different the ancestors of modern humans and Neanderthals were, 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 much deeper. It is likely that music and other art forms existed more than 50,000 years ago. But no proof of this has yet been found. Scientists from many countries around the world are actively working on this.