Ancient flutes from the Levant

Archaeologists have found some flutes dating back to 12 thousand years ago among the objects from the Natufian site of Eynan-Mallaha (Israel), obtained by drilling small bird bones.

The site, extensively excavated since the 1950s, in prehistoric times was occupied by the Natufians, the last hunter-gatherer population of the Levant. In an article published in the journal Scientific Reports, archaeologists describe the discovery of a pile of over a thousand bird bones, among which there were also some perforated fragments, interpreted as flutes. Only one was intact, just 6.5 cm long. From the ocher residues found on its surface, researchers were able to establish that it was once painted red. Traces of use show that it was hung on a string and perhaps worn by its owner.

According to the researchers, who reconstructed one of the instruments thanks to precise measurements and 3D models, when the flutes were played they created a high-pitched sound, similar to that emitted by some birds of prey, such as the Eurasian sparrowhawk and the kestrel. To obtain these sounds the Natufian craftsmen had to carefully select the bones, since a larger diameter would have produced a lower sound. According to archaeologists, these tools could have been used during hunting, to create music or to communicate with birds of prey, as falconers do today. In the Natufian material culture, birds had a particular value, in fact archaeologists have found several ornaments made with the claws of birds of prey.

The Eynan-Mallaha wind instruments are the only instruments from Levantine prehistory that are certainly identified. Even if they are not the oldest wind instruments in the world (which are the Neanderthal flutes discovered in Slovenia, dating back 60 thousand years ago), they testify to the Natufians' possession of precise acoustic knowledge, perhaps derived from the production and use of other musical instruments made of perishable materials, which have not reached us.


Agnese Picco
NP August / September 2023