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Archeologists Find Tiny 12,000-Year-Old Flutes Made From Bones of Prehistoric Birds in Israel

Experts created replicas of these bird flutes and found they produced the calls of birds of prey.
PUBLISHED DEC 4, 2024
Hollow Bird Bone, leg bone hollow interior, interior of bone (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Stan Tekiela Author | Naturalist | Wildlife Photographer)
Hollow Bird Bone, leg bone hollow interior, interior of bone (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Stan Tekiela Author | Naturalist | Wildlife Photographer)

Researchers have got their hands on the remains of a 12,000-year-old prehistoric bird in Israel. The bird bones have been located at a birdwatching site in the Huleh Valley, BBC reported. Experts noted that seven wing bones uncovered from the place had holes bored into them. Their shapes made researchers speculate they were flutes, which proved to be correct after they were analyzed. Findings regarding the bird flutes were published in Scientific Reports in 2023.

Osprey flying above fir trees with sunrays streaming through mist - stock photo (Image Source: Getty Images/Photo by 	Diane Miller)
Osprey flying above fir trees (Image Source: Getty Images/Photo by Diane Miller)

The bones were part of a collection of 1,100 bird bones unearthed from the site, Smithsonian Magazine reported. These bones gathered attention because of certain unique features like finger holes and mouthpieces. Experts created replicas of these bird flutes and found they produced the calls of birds of prey.

The state of the bird bones also indicated to the researchers that they had been used by people in the past. "They all show microscopic use-wear indicating they were, in fact, used or played," said Tal Simmons, a forensic anthropologist at the Virginia Commonwealth University.

"They are also really unique because the sound they produce is very similar to that of two specific birds of prey that were hunted by the people living at the site where they were discovered, namely the kestrel and the sparrowhawk," said Simmons.

Researchers believe that these flutes were the work of Natufians, a group of people who lived in the Levant region between 13000 and 9700 B.C.E., Smithsonian Magazine reported. Archeologists have claimed that finding prehistoric bone flutes is very rare, though older bird flutes than the one uncovered in Israel have been found in other areas, this is the first time one has been discovered from the Near East.

"The Natufians chose those small bones because they wanted the sound to be like this in order to imitate falcon sounds," Laurent Davin, an archeologist at the French Research Center in Jerusalem involved in the project explained. "This demonstrates their knowledge of acoustics and indicates that there were probably other instruments made of perishable materials."

Bone aerophones from Eynan-Mallaha, level Ib (Final Natufian). 1: EM99 7201; 2: EM96 5564; 3: EM97 6182; 4: EM99 7414; 5: EM04 9363; 6: EM98 6581; 7: EM98 7026 with details of the 10 worked areas: 7c/7d/7e/7i being finger-holes (in green), 7a/7b/7f./7 h being shallow notches (in blue), 7 g the mouthpiece with two perforations (7g1 and 7g2) and a residue of colouring material (7g3), 7j the distal end. (CAD and photos L.D.). Image Source: Scientific Reports
Bone aerophones from Eynan-Mallaha (Image Source: Scientific Reports)

Listening to the sound produced by these flutes through the replicas was an emotional experience for the team, Smithsonian Magazine reported. "It was very moving when I played it for the first time and heard the sound that Natufians made 12,000 years ago," Davin added.

Only one bird flute was intact amongst the seven discovered from the site. Researchers hope that these remains and the replicas help them understand the relationship between Natufians and birds of prey. Considering the Natufians made flutes which produced the calls of such birds, researchers believe these beings could have an important role in their overall culture. The team hopes to examine more to make their assertions.

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