Prehistoric music classifies all music created in the preliterate era (a period before any culture had created a system for reading and writing). Since its appearance predates recorded history, the origin of the music is still unknown; however, some believe that its creation was caused by the presence of natural sounds and rhythms. Humans may have learned to incorporate these natural sounds into their music using patterns, repetitions, or tones. Even today, many cultures create music specifically intended to imitate certain sounds of nature. (For example, this type of music is intertwined with shamanic beliefs or practices. Another reason it may be used is for practical reasons such as wildlife hunting.) That is, shamanism is usually practiced in Siberia or in Sami groups where the music intentionally involves the imitation of sounds Music in this era was very simple and had no written form or scale, meaning there were no harmonies, tunings or musical notations involved, just simple sounds. Many ancient cultures were said to use music as a mnemonic device to remember and imprint important stories and myths in the mind. It was a common way to pass down tribal history and quickly became imprinted in the memory. The first musical instrument that was most likely used was the human voice. However, humans learned very early how to make their own tools. It seems that Ice Age humans were also quite fond of music, as a 35,000-year-old bone flute dating back to the late Pleistocene was found in a cave in the Swabian Mountains of southwestern Germany. The flute was made from the tusk of a woolly mammoth. In those days, ivory was considered the most beautiful and extravagant material... middle of paper......Time Inc., April 15, 2013. Web. September 10, 2013.9. Byrne, David. “Smithsonian.com.” Smithsonian magazine. Smithsonian Media, October 2012. Web. September 10, 2013.10. Moran, Melanie. “Musicians use both sides of the brain.” Vanderbilt News. Vanderbilt University, October 2, 2008. Web. September 10, 2013.11. Henna, Steve. “This is musician Mickey Hart's brain on music.” NPR. NPR, September 6, 2013. Web. September 10, 2013.12. Patel, Aniruddh D. Language, music, syntax and the brain. Np: Nature Neuroscience, 25 June 2003. PDF.13. Levitin, Daniel J. This is Your Brain in Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. New York, NY: Dutton, 2006. Print.14. Shulman, Matthew. "Music as medicine for the brain." News from the United States. USNews & World Report, July 17, 2008. Web. September 10, 2013.15. "How music benefits the brain." Medical news today. MediLexicon International, 17 June 2012. Web. 10 September. 2013.