This date was based on the archaeological evidence available to him at that time. The lutes were pierced lutes long-necked lutes with a neck made from a stick that went into a carved or turtle-shell bowl, the top covered with skin, and strings tied to the neck and instrument's bottom.Ĭurt Sachs, a musical historian, placed the earliest lutes at about 2000 BC in his 1941 book The History of Musical Instruments. Lutes either rose in ancient Mesopotamia prior to 3100 BC or were brought to the area by ancient Semitic tribes. The lute family includes not only short-necked plucked lutes such as the lute, oud, pipa, guitar, citole, gittern, mandore, rubab, and gambus and long-necked plucked lutes such as banjo, tanbura, bağlama, bouzouki, veena, theorbo, archlute, pandura, sitar, tanbur, setar, but also bowed instruments such as the yaylı tambur, rebab, erhu, and the entire family of viols and violins. Lutes are stringed musical instruments that include a body and 'a neck which serves both as a handle and as a means of stretching the strings beyond the body'. Lute player with short-necked lute, far right.
Hellenistic banquet scene from the 1st century AD, Hadda, Gandhara.
