were discovered in Wicklow, Ireland, in the winter of 2003, carbon-dated at around 2167±30 BCE. A wood-lined pit contained a group of six flutes made from yew wood, between long, tapered at one end, but without any finger holes. They may once have been strapped together. Slovenia The oldest flute ever discovered may be the so-called Divje Babe flute, found in the Cerkno Hills, Slovenia in 1995, though this is disputed. The item in question is a fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, and has been dated to about 43,000 years ago. However, whether it is truly a musical instrument or simply a carnivore-chewed bone is a matter of ongoing debate. In 2012, some flutes that were discovered years earlier in the Geißenklösterle cave received a new high-resolution carbon-dating examination yielding an age of 42,000 to 43,000 years. The Americas Canada For thousands of years, Canada has been inhabited by Indigenous Peoples from a variety of different cultures and of several major linguistic groupings. Each of the Indigenous communities had (and have) their own unique musical traditions. Chanting – singing is widely popular, with many of its performers also using a variety of musical instruments. They used the materials at hand to make their instruments for thousands of years before Europeans immigrated to the new world. They made gourds and animal horns into rattles which were elaborately carved and beautifully painted. In woodland areas, they made horns of birchbark along with drumsticks of carved antlers and wood. Drums were generally made of carved wood and animal hides. These musical instruments provide the background for songs and dances. See also Ancient music Behavioral modernity Cognitive neuroscience of music Evolutionary musicology International Study Group on Music Archaeology Onomatopoeia Origin of language Origins of religion Prehistoric art Sound symbolism Notes References This book has been translated to English: These songs are available online from the ethnopoetics website curated by Jerome Rothenberg. Further reading Ellen Hickmann, Anne D. Kilmer and Ricardo Eichmann, (ed.) Studies in Music Archaeology III, 2001, VML Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH., Germany Engel, Carl, The Music of the Most Ancient Nations, Wm. Reeves, 1929. Haik Vantoura, Suzanne (1976). The Music of the Bible Revealed Sachs, Curt, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World, East and West, W.W. Norton, 1943. Sachs, Curt, The Wellsprings of Music, McGraw-Hill, 1965. Smith, Hermann, The World's Earliest Music, Wm. Reeves, 1904. External