The first prehistoric wind instruments discovered in the Levant

Newswise — The ancient site of Eynan-Mallaha in northern Israel has been studied for a long time, but it continues to surprise scientists. Recently, a team of researchers from France and Israel discovered seven ancient wind instruments called flutes at the site. These flutes are around 12,000 years old and are very rare because they are the first of their kind found in the Near East.

These flutes were made by using the bones of a small water bird. When air is blown into them, they produce a sound similar to certain birds of prey like the Eurasian sparrowhawk and common kestrel. The choice of using these specific bones was intentional because larger bird bones, which make deeper sounds, were also found at the site. The people who lived in the village of Eynan-Mallaha between 13,000 and 9,700 BC, known as the Natufians, deliberately chose smaller bones to create flutes that imitated the high-pitched sounds of these particular birds of prey. It is possible that these instruments were used for hunting, making music, or even communicating with the birds themselves. The Natufians had a special respect for birds, as shown by the many ornaments made from bird talons found at the site.

The village of Eynan-Mallaha, situated near Lake Hula, was the home of the Natufians for 3,000 years. It is an important site for understanding the way of life and changes in this ancient culture. It provides insights into their transition from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled one and the shift from relying on hunting to practicing agriculture.

The research was supported by the Fyssen Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Notes

1. The team is co-directed by Laurent Davin (post-doctoral researcher at the Fyssen Fondation) and José-Miguel Tejero (University of Vienna, University of Barcelona) and includes scientists from the Centre de recherche français à Jérusalem (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université/ministère de la Culture), the laboratoire Technologie et ethnologie des mondes préhistoriques (CNRS/Université Panthéon-Sorbonne/Université Paris Nanterre), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Institute of Archaeology), Israel Antiquities Authority, Virginia Commonwealth University (Department of Forensic Science), École Nationale Vétérinaire (Laboratoire d’Anatomie comparée, Nantes), the laboratoire Archéologies et sciences de l’Antiquité (CNRS/ministère de la Culture/Université Panthéon-Sorbonne/Université Paris Nanterre) and the l’Institut d’ethnologie méditerranéenne, européenne et comparative (CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille).
2. Excavation of the Eynan-Mallaha site is still ongoing, under the direction of CNRS researcher Fanny Bocquentin and Israel Antiquities Authority researcher Lior Weisbrod.