World's Oldest Musical Instruments
Even if is true that the oldest musical instrument is the human voice, for millennia, human beings from all corners of the world and in various stages of their history have also created musical artifacts using animal bones, skin, hair, wood, bamboo, shells, and other materials available.
Among the experts and some passionate admirers of antique musical instruments, there is still an ongoing debate about which may be considered the oldest musical instrument in human history. In this sense, it is necessary to make some distinctions before stating which may be considered "the world's oldest musical instruments."
First of all, because of the resemblance of many modern and contemporary instruments with some musical artifacts that have been depicted in ancient paintings or documents, some people believe that several of today's instruments are thousands of years old in their use.
The problem is that in many cases, there is no historical or archeological evidence, nor very old traditions that suggest they are the same instrument. Nevertheless, some of those modern or contemporary instruments may be considered "descendants" of antique musical artifacts. This happens with many instruments, from the drum to pipe or flute families.
Another consideration is that there are several instruments that exist today that have been around almost continuously for thousands of years. In this case, the historical, archeological, and continuing musical traditions support the claim of their antiquity. A third and final distinction pertains to the archaeological findings of ancient musical instruments, the uses and traditions of which haven't survived the test of the ages.
Therefore, the locus of this article is to present several of the oldest musical instruments still in use today and the recent archeological findings of the oldest instruments that have been recovered from oblivion.
0 Comments