All over the world, archeologists list simple idiophones as the first prehistoric musical instruments. This includes rattles, scrapers, and bone flutes (without holes).

The neolithic strata contains slit drums, flutes (with holes), shell trumpets, and musical bows. The paleolithic strata yields basket rattles, xylophones, flutes, friction sticks.
These early instruments, at least the instruments which survived, often resemble tools that early society utilized. In India, the doddu rajan, found among the Savaras, resembles a fire producing implement (a tool to create heat by friction).

This type of scraper, also found as the kokara among the Palayans of Kerala perhaps became the Palayans' scraper, and used in the music of exorcism.

Earthen pots, used for cooking and storing grain, served as percussion instruments. Examples are the noot, rouf (Kashmir), matki (Rajastan), gugri, gagra (north India), ghatam (south India). Since many of these instruments, built out of perishable materials, did not leave evidence for us to trace their history, we rely on sculptures, paintings, and manuscripts which depict or describe them.

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