The origins of the Ancient Flute
Since most ancient flutes discovered now are bone because its mineral structure lasts longer than most other flutes made of wood or bamboo, the oldest flutes that archaeologists know of are all made of bone. These often date back to before the Middle Ages, so without many written records, people have to rely on evidence from the artifact itself to gather clues about its origins. For this specific flute, scientists determined that it was carved out of a sheep’s bone by using its context (area it was buried in) and by comparing it to many different animal bones to determine which it was most similar to. Sheep were both prevalent in that area and matched with the bone, so we know now that many ancient bone flutes were carved from animal bones, which are made up of elements created in a star.
Bone itself consists mainly of collagen fibres and an inorganic bone mineral in the form of small crystals...The composition of the mineral component can be approximated as hydroxyapatite (HA), with the chemical formula Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2... the composition of bone mineral is much more complex and contains additional ions such as silicon, carbonate and zinc (Cambridge).
Most ancient whistles unearthed today are made out of bone because it is much less likely to decompose than whistles made out of other, more fragile materials such as wood (as mentioned above). This is because of bone’s mineral structure that is mainly inorganic, so it takes much longer to break down and therefore is able to last thousands of years buried underground, so scientists know that these whistles are able to (and have) lasted from some of the earliest points of humanity. As mentioned in the text, the main elements in this mineral structure are Calcium, Phosphorus, Oxygen, and Hydrogen, showing that these elements were all forged inside of a star because of its extreme temperatures fusing atoms together. Since all elements came from stars, the earliest origin of all bone, and more specifically, bone flutes, was the inside of a star.
Locations of whistles discovered include the following: bone flutes [Coastal North America], clay whistles [Central America, Columbia, Brazil, Peru], and prehistoric flutes [China and many European countries] (Wilson).
The areas in which ancient whistles are found come from all around the world, but many of similar types and materials are found in similar areas. For example, many clay whistles originate in Central America, Columbia, Brazil, and Peru. However, these existed mainly in large civilizations in more recent times (although still thousands of years old). On the other hand, humans of prehistoric times seemed to develop whistles independently, as shown by the fact that the bulk of ancient bone flutes discovered originate from areas all over the continents of quickest human development, Asia (mainly China) and Europe. Because these flutes dated back to prehistoric times and only the continents with the earliest human development hold these artifacts, scientists believe that the instrument has existed for most of human history.