Editing History of music (section)

==Prehistory==
{{Main|Prehistoric music}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=340
| image1 = Flûte paléolithique (musée national de Slovénie, Ljubljana) (9420310527).jpg
| link1  = Divje Babe Flute
| image2 = Super alte Flöte.jpg
| image3 = Bone Flute.jpg
| footer = ''Top left'', the purported [[Divje Babe Flute]] from [[Divje Babe]], Slovenia;{{sfn|Morley|2013|pp=38–39}} ''top right'' a [[Aurignacian]] [[Paleolithic flutes|bone flute]] from [[Geissenklösterle]], Germany;{{sfn|Killin|2018|loc="Music archaeology of the Upper Palaeolithic"}} ''bottom'' a [[Gudi (instrument)|''gudi'' bone flute]] in the modern-day [[Jiahu]], [[Wuyang County|Wuyang]], [[Henan Province]].
}}

In the broadest sense, [[prehistoric music]]—more commonly termed primitive music in the past{{sfn|Nettl|1956|pp=1–5}}{{sfn|Wallin|Merker|Brown|2000|p=21}}{{refn|Though the term "primitive music" includes extinct [[Literate|preliterate]] cultures, it also refers to existing [[Uncontacted peoples|uncontacted]] [[indigenous peoples]].{{sfn|Nettl|1956|pp=1–5}} The term is now outdated, though {{harvtxt|Wallin|Merker|Brown|2000|p=21}} assert that the 20th-century musicologists that used it had "nothing less but respect" for the music in question.{{sfn|Wallin|Merker|Brown|2000|p=21}}|group=n}}—encompasses all music produced in [[Literate|preliterate]] cultures ([[prehistory]]), beginning at least 6 million years ago when [[human]]s and [[chimpanzee]]s [[Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor|last had a common ancestor]].{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=3}} Music first arose in the [[Paleolithic]] period,{{sfn|Kunej|Turk|2000|p=235}} though it remains unclear as to whether this was the [[Middle Paleolithic|Middle]] (300,000 to 50,000&nbsp;[[Before Present|BP]]) or [[Upper Paleolithic]] (50,000 to 12,000&nbsp;BP).{{sfn|Kunej|Turk|2000|pp=235–236}} The vast majority of Paleolithic instruments have been found in Europe and date to the Upper Paleolithic.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=33}} It is certainly possible that singing emerged far before this time, though this is essentially impossible to confirm.{{sfn|Huron|2003|p=63}} The potentially oldest instrument is the [[Divje Babe Flute]] from the [[Divje Babe]] cave in Slovenia, dated to 43,000 and 82,000 and made from a young [[cave bear]] [[femur]].{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=38}} Purportedly used by [[Neanderthal]]s, the Divje Babe Flute has received extensive scholarly attention, and whether it is truly a musical instrument or an object formed by animals is the subject of intense debate.{{sfn|Morley|2013|pp=38–39}} If the former, it would be the oldest known musical instrument and evidence of a musical culture in the Middle Paleolithic.{{sfn|Kunej|Turk|2000|p=236}} Other than the Divje Babe Flute and three other doubtful flutes,{{refn|The [[Haua Fteah]] cave, Libya; {{ill|Ilsenhöhle|de}}, Germany; and [[Kents Cavern]], England each contain an object that has been proposed as a Middle Paleolithic flute, though none have achieved wide scholarly acceptance.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=38}}|group=n}} there is virtually no surviving Middle Paleolithic musical evidence of any certainty, similar to the [[Art of the Middle Paleolithic|situation in regards to visual art]].{{sfn|Kunej|Turk|2000|p=235}} The earliest objects whose designations as musical instruments are widely accepted are [[Paleolithic flutes|bone flutes]] from the [[Swabian Jura]], Germany, namely from the [[Geissenklösterle]], [[Hohle Fels]] and [[Vogelherd Cave|Vogelherd]] caves.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=42}} Dated to the [[Aurignacian]] (of the Upper Paleolithic) and used by [[Early European modern humans]], from all three caves there are eight examples, four made from the [[Bird's wing|wing bone]]s of birds and four from [[mammoth ivory]]; three of these are near complete.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=42}} Three flutes from the Geissenklösterle are dated as the oldest, {{circa|43,150–39,370}} BP.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=43}}{{refn|See {{harvtxt|Morley|2013|pp=43–45}} for a comprehensive table on all eight surviving flutes from the [[Geissenklösterle]], [[Hohle Fels]] and [[Vogelherd Cave|Vogelherd]] caves|group=n}}

Considering the relative complexity of flutes, it is likely earlier instruments existed, akin to objects that are common in later [[hunter and gatherer]] societies, such as [[Rattle (percussion instrument)|rattle]]s, [[Shaker (musical instrument)|shaker]]s, and [[drum]]s.{{sfn|Huron|2003|p=63}} The absence of other instruments from and before this time may be due to their use of weaker—and thus more [[biodegradation|biodegradable]]—materials,{{sfn|Kunej|Turk|2000|p=235}} such as reeds, gourds, skins, and bark.{{sfn|Killin|2018|loc="The Late Pleistocene: Mid/Upper Palaeolithic musicality"}} A painting in the [[Cave of the Trois-Frères]] dating to {{circa|15,000}} BCE is thought to depict a [[shaman]] playing a [[musical bow]].{{sfn|Rycroft|2001|loc="1. History"}}

Prehistoric cultures are thought to have had a wide variety of uses for music, with little unification between different societies.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=324}} Music was likely of particular value when food and other basic needs were scarce.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=324}} It is also probable that prehistoric cultures viewed music as intrinsically connected with nature, and may have believed its use influenced the natural world directly.{{sfn|Morley|2013|p=324}}

The earliest instruments found in prehistoric China are 12 [[Gudi (instrument)|''gudi'' bone flutes]] in the modern-day [[Jiahu]], [[Wuyang County|Wuyang]], [[Henan Province]] from {{circa|6000}} BCE.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Gudi |encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-4002281191 |last=Picard |first=François |date=28 May 2015 |orig-date=8 December 2014 |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.L2281191 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |url-access=subscription}} {{Grove Music subscription}}</ref>{{sfn|Guangsheng|2000|pp=88, 91}}{{refn|These bone flutes (''gudi'') were made from the [[red-crowned crane]]; they are perhaps the earliest instruments from anywhere in the world that remain playable.{{sfn|Moore|2009|loc="Archaeological Evidence of Musical Instruments"}}|group=n}}{{refn|The next oldest are various bone whistles in [[Hemudu]], [[Yuyao]], [[Zhejiang Province]] from {{circa|5000}} BCE.{{sfn|Guangsheng|2000|pp=88, 91}}|group=n}} The only instruments dated to the prehistoric [[Xia dynasty]] ({{circa|2070–1600}}) are two ''[[Sounding stone|qing]]'', two small bells (one [[earthenware]], one [[bronze]]), and a ''[[Xun (instrument)|xun]]''.{{sfn|Tong|1983a|p=23}} Due to this extreme scarcity of surviving instruments and the general uncertainty surrounding most of the Xia, creating a musical narrative of the period is impractical.{{sfn|Tong|1983a|p=23}} In the [[Indian subcontinent]], the prehistoric [[Indus Valley civilisation]] (from {{circa|2500–2000}} BCE in its mature state) has archeological evidence that indicates simple [[Rattle (percussion instrument)|rattle]]s and [[vessel flute]]s were used, while iconographical evidence suggests early harps and drums also existed.{{sfn|Flora|2000|pp=319–320}} An [[ideogram]] in the later IVC contains the earliest known depiction of an [[arched harp]], dated sometime before 1800 BCE.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2001 |title=Harp: IV. Asia |encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000045738 |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.45738 |last2=Lawergren |first2=Bo |last1=DeVale |first1=Sue Carole |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |author-link2=Bo Lawergren |url-access=subscription}} {{Grove Music subscription}}</ref>