TIME

First Music

At least ≈ 40,000 years ago

A slender bone flute lying on a dark cloth-covered mount in a museum display case.

Early HumanityFirst Music

The oldest known instruments.

Ancient musical instruments give direct evidence of music among early humans. Music probably existed before the oldest instruments that survive.

The Hohle Fels flute is about 35,000 to 40,000 years old. Flutes from Geißenklösterle are older still. Singing leaves no trace.

At least ≈ 40,000 years ago, placed on the scale of its era on a line leading toward now.

Era
Early Humanity
Period
At least ≈ 40,000 years ago
Edition
1/1
Status
Not Released
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Background artwork

Cinematic background showing a gathering around a fire in a painted cave. An illustration generated with an AI image tool for TIME. It is an artistic depiction, not a photograph or a record of the moment. The scene and the instrument are imagined.