In India, the cross flute appeared in reliefs from the 1st century A.D. He said that religious artwork depicting 'celestial music' instruments was linked to music with an 'aristocratic character.' The Indian bamboo cross flute, Bansuri, was sacred to Krishna, and he is depicted in Hindu art with the instrument. The cross flute (Sanskrit: vДЃб№ѓЕ›Д«) was 'the outstanding wind instrument of ancient India,' according to Curt Sachs.

Of these, the chi is the oldest documented cross flute or transverse flute, and was made from bamboo. The oldest written sources reveal the Chinese were using the kuan (a reed instrument) and hsio (or xiao, an end-blown flute, often of bamboo) in the 12thвЂ“11th centuries B.C., followed by the chi (or ch'ih) in the 9th century B.C. Flutes have been discovered in historical records and artworks starting in the Zhou dynasty. Historians have found the bamboo flute has a long history as well, especially in China and India. The Americas also had an ancient flute culture, with instruments found in Caral, Peru, dating back 5000 years and in Labrador dating back approximately 7500 years. In China, a playable bone flute was discovered, dated approximately 9000 years old. While the oldest flutes currently known were found in Europe, Asia, too, has a long history with the instrument that has continued into the present day. These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.

A number of flutes dating to about 43,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Jura region of present-day Germany. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist or flutist.ДЇlutes are the earliest known identifiable musical instruments, as paleolithic examples with hand-bored holes have been found. According to the instrument classification of HornbostelвЂ“Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophones. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. The flute is a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group.

Japanese flute music