In Asia we find one of the pan flutes oldest ancestors - p'ai hsiao. This is a flute which has one big pipe in the middle and pipes of symmetrically diminishing sizes to both sides. From the same period of time we find in Indonesia several pan flutes either straight or in a bundled form. In the British Museum in London, there is a barelief (1st to 5th century AD) of women playing on the panpipe, double aulos and drums. In Africa the existence of the pan flute is not so obvious - in a few places in Eastern and Central Africa, primitive pan flutes with 2 to 6 pipes are found. In South-America (Peru and Bolivia), the pan flute is as alive as in Romania. In museums all around the world we find evidence of pan flutes from the pre-Colombian period, dating from between 300 and 1500 AD. The pan flute originated from the ancient Inca and Maya civilizations and spread throughout the entire territory of America. Its names are: antara, hauyra, puhura, siku and rondador. The pipes are attached to a cross-beam and tied with rope or vegetable material. They are not tied as securely as a Romanian pan flute. There are also types of pan flutes in Oceania among the people of the different islands. In general these are pan flutes with just a few pipes, 3 to 14, in a flat raft-shape, or in a bundle. The pan flute today however, is no longer seen as a primitive instrument to be used exclusively in folkloristic music and I am convinced in the future it will become one of the most widely used musical instruments.

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