There is no evidence that the music handed down by aboriginals, Inuit, or any group is "really, really" old. Among the pueblo people of the southwest, with whom I am familiar, there are traditions about previous dwelling sites back to about 900-1100 that have been documented in some cases (they mostly point to the work of the archaeologists for verification and to similarities in culture and artifacts, their older oral histories are very limited and uncertain). When did their chants originate? Not even they claim any certain knowledge here. They could have been re-written and set to new music many times. The basic ideas are handed down, but the custodians added their own embellishments.

Chinese musical instruments of great refinement have been found in tombs 2500 years old and older. I do not know of any tunes of the time that have been preserved. In a twist, music for these instruments has been written recently by Tan Dun and other composers.