Bone flutes from 12,000 years ago excavated in Israel

June 9 () –

Seven prehistoric flute-like wind instruments have been excavated at the Eynan-Mallaha prehistoric site in northern Israel. Apparently they were used for hunting.

According to research published in Scientific Reports, the discovery of these 12,000-year-old aerophones is extremely rare; in fact, they are the first to be discovered in the Near East.

The ‘flutes’, made from the bones of a small water bird, produce a sound similar to that of certain birds of prey (Eurasian hawk and common kestrel) when air is blown into them. The choice of bones used to make these instruments was not accidental: Larger birds, with larger bones that produce deeper sounds, have also been found at the site.

The Natufians, the Near Eastern civilization that occupied this site between 13,000 and 9,700 BC. C., deliberately selected smaller bones to obtain the high-pitched sound necessary to imitate these particular birds of prey.

The instruments may have been used for hunting, music, or to communicate with the birds themselves. In fact, it is clear that the Natufians attached special symbolic value to birds, as attested by the numerous ornaments made with claws found in Eynan-Mallaha.

The town, located on the shores of Lake Hula, was home to this civilization throughout its 3,000 years of existence. Therefore, it is vitally important to reveal the practices and habits of a culture at the crossroads between mobile and sedentary lifestyles, and the transition from a predatory economy to agriculture.