How do we know that people made music

thousands of years ago?

Today, recorded music surrounds us. You

can buy CDs of your favorite music. You

can hear singers on the radio. You can

even watch them on TV.

Thousands of years from

now, people will know

about our music because

we have made recordings

of it. Thousands of years

ago, recording music was

impossible.

So how do we know that

people long ago played

music? Because scientists

have found flutes that are

over 9,000 years old!

The flutes were found in

China, in the Yellow River

Valley. Here, scientist

unearthed all sorts of

treasures, including 36

flutes.

The flutes were made

from the wing bones of

a crane – a long necked

wading bird. People long

ago carved and shaped

the bones and put holes

in them.

Flutes made from bone.

Even more surprising was

that one of the flutes

found in China could still be

played. “It makes a reedy,

pleasant sound, a little thin,

like a reorder,” one scientist

described.

WHAT IS SOUND?

Sound is a kind of energy

that you can hear.

Sound is made when

something vibrates, or

moves quickly back and

forth.

When something vibrates,

it makes the air vibrate,

too. Vibrating air carries

the sound you hear.

No one knows for sure

what type of music the

people form the Stone

Age played. Did it sound

like the music of today?

Did people have musical

talent and perform

concerts? Did people sing

along? We can only

wonder what their music

might have sounded like!

Today, people can enjoy recorded music as well as live music at concerts like this one,

or this one.