According to Gayle Kassing, labyrinth dances linked to initiations were performed as part of the ancient traditions of secret societies. Accompaniment was provided by percussive instruments, such as sticks, blocks of wood, rattles, drums, bone clappers and even bone xylophones. The theory is early humans discovered bones make a sound when struck, and, because they are hollow, that different sized bones made different sounds. It would have been relatively straightforward for ancient man to lash together several bones with plant material or animal sinews to make a crude, but nevertheless practical bone xylophone.
Kassing refers to whistles, flutes and horns and also instruments made from bamboo and clay. Clay instruments may have included those other than wind instruments. However, there are two late classic Mayan period ocarinas in the National Music Museum at The University of South Dakota, dating from 700 to 900 A.D. An ocarina is an ancient flute-like instrument. The two are made of unglazed, earthenware clay and are spherical, resonating duct flutes, each with two finger holes. It is possible that similar instruments were played in the Oxkintok labyrinth on the Yucatán Peninsula. Wind instruments have been part of human activity for millennia, perhaps as long as 40,000 years, according to Nicholas J. Conard of the University of Tübingen. This was in response to the discovery of an ancient bone flute with five finger holes in a cave in Germany. A flute made from mammoth ivory, and two others made from the wing bones of a mute swan, were found a few years earlier.
Other instruments mentioned by Kassing include guitar-like instruments with strings made from animal sinew. A silver lyre in the collection of The British Museum from around 2500 BC is so intricate it contains tuning pegs. The instrument was found in the Great Death-Pit, Ur, Iraq. It has a sounding box decorated with shell, lapis lazuli and a silver cow head. The British Museum believes such instruments were probably played during rituals.