The flute is the oldest musical instrument in the world.  The Neanderthal Flute, made from the bone of a cave bear, was discovered in Slovakia in 1995. It dates back at least 50,000 years.

A replica of it was made and played, and today’s modern day instruments amazingly matched the tuning of the Neanderthal Flute. The modern Native American Flute is generally considered to derive from the Southern AZ tribes and has changed very little over its history.