"12,000-Year-Old Bone Flutes Mimic Birds of Prey in Sound"

Archaeologists have discovered a collection of 12,000-year-old flutes made from bird bones at a prehistoric site in Israel. The flutes, which were carved by the Natufians, the last hunter-gatherers in the Levant, mimic the calls of certain birds of prey. The Natufians were methodical in selecting small bones to create high-pitched sounds similar to those made by Eurasian sparrowhawks and common kestrels. The flutes are the oldest sound instruments imitating bird calls in the world and provide evidence of the Natufians' relationship with symbolically valued birds of prey.