Aztec Death Whistle

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

I've been researching musical instruments made from human bones, particularly in early Indo-European folktales, and discovered that bones, yes human bones, were used to make flutes and are considered the earliest known musical instrument.

I thought this was somewhat related to your thread, this idea of a "Death Whistle".

Neolithic Bone Flutes

The use of musical instruments, such as clay flutes and bone whistles, has been traced back to the earliest documented historical period in China (Shang dynasty, 1765-1121 BCE). In the case of China (and in pre-Columbian civilizations as well), the discovery of ancient instruments such as ocarinas, or vessel flutes, which were crafted from such material as bird bones, are evidence of a sophisticated musical culture that thrived thousands of years before Europeans composed symphonies and operas.

LINK

Neanderthals made bone flutes, something that wasn't mentioned in this article. I'm pretty sure Neanderthals were first, but bone whistles were certainly early in the development of most every human culture.

This was something that endured in our European culture as folktales, for example, "The Singing Bone", a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.