Ancient music: notes and thoughts on how it was played
A Timeline of Flute Development
rough guide the ranges of various eras in development, based on the Pecos Classification. These eras and their associated dates vary, sometimes widely, among different sources.
Hurrian Hymn - The Oldest Written Song
French archeologists excavated a clay tablet in the early 1950's which is believe to be "sheet music" for this Hurrian Hymn. It is currently the oldest known written music.
Some information on Biblical music specifically using the kinnor(ten strings) and the nevel (twelve strings).
Evidence of Harmony in Ancient Music
Reprinted from Feb 1988 Archeologia Musicalis
Ancient Music - The Mesopotamian Tunings
Fragments of Ancient Instrumental Music
This Roman era papyrus contains the sort of musical notation used by instrumental musicians in antiquity. The papyrus is a fragment from what was probably a collection of melodies for performance, perhaps intended for the ancient aulos, a woodwind not unlike a modern oboe; or, less likely, the ancient kithara, the performance version of a lyre.
Ancient music FAQ page at medieval.org
Ancient music in Western cultures
An ancient bone flute segment, estimated at about 43,ooo up to 82,ooo years old, was found recently at a Neanderthal campsite by Dr. Ivan Turk, a paleontologist at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences in Ljubljana. It's the first flute ever to be associated with Neanderthals and its confirmed age makes it the oldest known musical instrument.