A History of Music in Western Culture (2006)

To Dorothea, Peter; Andrew

Every known civilization has had music of some kind. The human voice is as old as the species itself, and a recorder-like object crafted from the thigh bones of a bear may have been made as long as 50,000 years ago by Neanderthals living in what is now Slovenia, in eastern Europe. The earliest indisputable musical instrument -- a kind of flute made from the wing bone of a vulture -- dates from about 34,000 B.C.E. and was found in what is now southwestern France. The ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumeria, which emerged between 4000 and 3000 B.C.E., left behind many images of people singing and playing instruments, particularly in connection with religious rituals.

Whatever form it takes, music will remain one of humanity's defining characteristics.