Scientists are analyzing a snail shell that is believed to be the oldest spiritual instrument of its kind.
The shell was initially overlooked when it was found in the Marsoulas cave in the Pyrenees, but researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS); Toulouse Museum; University of Toulouse - Jean Jaurès; and the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques-Chirac have released an audio recording as part of a new study.
The top of the sea snail shell is broken and forms an opening. The yeast is the strongest part of the shell, so the researchers said the fracture is not accidental. There is also evidence of cutting, drilling and embellishing using hematite, a red pigment that was used in the Marsoulas cave.
Comparison with other objects, which date back 18,000 years, according to researchers, makes the shell the oldest spiritual instrument of its kind.
It was not necessarily used to make music, as it may also have been a means of communication.
Sources: Science Advances, CNN
