Pictured here are two acoustic wind instruments, made in modern times.The 40,000 year old flute on the right was carved from the wing bone of a griffin vulture. It is among the earliest musical instruments yet discovered.
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What I find so amazing is the design of the finger holes. The area around the holes has been carved to make it easier to cover them with a good seal. It really does make the horn feel faster under the hands to have this artful little feature.
Vulture_wingbone_flute-177x300One can see the same technique used on the two instruments from my collection, on the left a tenor krumhorn (by Koerber) and alongside it, a bamboo transverse flute (by Bacon). This nicety is common among traditional woodwind instruments of many cultures. It is exciting to see that it was developed so early. Such subtlety! Details like this make me suspect that prehistoric music was much more nuanced than we normally imagine it to be, as well.
