bone flute
Ancient carved pipe
A bone flute is a musical wind instrument made from hollow animal bone, typically from birds or large mammals.
Among the oldest known musical instruments, bone flutes have been found at archaeological sites dating back tens of thousands of years.
The term also appears in crude humor as slang for penis, playing on the shape and the act of blowing.
- wind instrumentMusic maker requiring breath
- carvedCut to create form
- ancientVery old indeed
- musicOrganized auditory art
- hollowEmpty within
hollow tube · breath · prehistoric · cave · cave painting · reed · ivory · marrow · paleolithic · ice age · ritual · haunting · whistle · holes · tone · wind · primitive · artifact
- flutespiccolo, recorder, fife, tin whistle, penny whistle
- ancient instrumentslyre, harp, pan pipes, shofar, tibia
- early instrumentslute, harpsichord, viol, recorder, sackbut
- natural instrumentsdrum, conch shell, rainstick, didgeridoo, ocarina
- unusual instrumentstheremin, musical saw, hurdy-gurdy, glass harmonica, found objects
- bone toolsawl, needle, harpoon, fish hook, scraper