DCM 0776: Anonymous, North American Indian (Yurok) Flute

DCM ledger: "American Indian, Yurok, California." In addition to what are obviously 3 fingerholes, there is located above, a lateral and indented hole which may be the embouchure if this were intended as a transverse flute, which would therefore require the tubing above to be closed. However, it is not, and it may be intended as a whistle flute, although the whistle edge is quite unsatisfactory.
Instrument type: Flute
Medium: Bone.; 24.9 cm.
Key Holes System: 0/3 holes.
Mark Maximum: No mark.
Condition: Patches of an unidentified covering, possibly thin leather, are still present, but can easily be peeled away.
Provenance: Albert G. Heath, Chicago, 14 Apr. 1928.

The Dayton C. Miller collection in the Library of Congress, contains nearly 1,700 flutes and other wind instruments, statuary, iconography, books, music, trade catalogs, tutors, patents, and other materials mostly related to the flute. It includes both Western and non-Western examples of flutes from around the world, with at least 460 European and American instrument makers represented. Items in the collection date from the 16th to the 20th century.