Music may be even more ancient than the human race, over which it holds tremendous sway. Scientists are beginning to find out why.
It can bring us to tears or to our feet, drive us into battle or lull us to sleep. Music is indeed remarkable in its power over all humankind. Perhaps for that very reason, no human culture on earth has ever lived without it: people making music predates agriculture and perhaps even language. Take, for instance, the recent discoveries in France and Slovenia of surprisingly sophisticated, sweet-sounding flutes, made by our Neandertal cousins. Some of these instruments, carved from animal bones, are as much as 53,000 years old—more than twice as old as the famed cave paintings in Lascaux.

Read rest of article on Scientific American