Record #00322Culture & Entertainment archive
Among the Earliest Archaeologically Confirmed Wind Instruments
Bird-bone and mammoth-ivory flutes from Geißenklösterle Cave in Germany's Swabian Jura are among the earliest securely attested wind instruments, associated with Aurignacian layers dating to around 40,000 years ago.
ARCHIVE VISUAL / 01
NOT TO SCALE
Current Record
about40,000years old
Current record value
- Location
- Geißenklösterle Cave, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Start date
- —
- Record status
- VerifiedReport an issue
Verification basis and limitations
VerifiedThe record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Verification explanation pending
- Last editorial review
- 2026-11-04
Current Entry identifies the current entry in this archive; it does not establish that the record is still held today.
Overview
Archive NoteResearchers at the University of Tübingen excavated fragments of two bird-bone flutes and one mammoth-ivory flute from the Geißenklösterle cave. Intentional shaping and sound holes provide direct physical evidence for music making in the Upper Palaeolithic.
A 2012 radiocarbon study refined the chronology of Aurignacian deposits at the site. Comparable ancient flutes were also found in other caves of the Swabian Jura, so the result concerns one of the earliest reliably dated groups rather than a unique earliest instrument.
Record history
1 Milestones- about 40,000 years oldGeißenklösterle prehistoric flute assemblageGeißenklösterle Cave, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyCurrent Record
Sources
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