A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. The term usually applies to an object used in a rhythmic context or with musical intent.
The word "percussion" has evolved from Latin terms: "percussio" (which translates as "to beat, strike" in the musical sense, rather than the violent action), and "percussus" (which is a noun meaning "a beating"). As a noun in contemporary English it is described in Wiktionary as "the collision of two bodies to produce a sound". The usage of the term is not unique to music but has application in medicine and weaponry, as in percussion cap, but all known and common uses of the word, "percussion", appear to share a similar lineage beginning with the original Latin: "percussus". In a musical context then, the term "percussion instruments" may have been coined originally to describe a family of instruments including drums, rattles, metal plates, or wooden blocks which musicians would beat or strike (as in a collision) to produce sound.
History
Anthropologists and historians often speculate that percussion instruments were the first musical devices ever created. The human voice was probably the first musical instrument, but percussion instruments such as hands and feet, then sticks, rocks, and logs were almost certainly the next steps in the evolution of music.
Many caves in France, near Caberets and Grotte du Pech Merle, are believed to have been inhabited by early human communities. In those caves, anthropologists have observed red dots which appear in most places where other carvings/paintings appear. It is believed that the dots/markings were formed by people who would tap or hammer those parts of the rock which have obvious acoustic significance; tapping those particular places causes tones which resonate throughout the cavern (like the echo of voices in a giant cathedral or drums in a large hall). This may be proof that humans were aware of the acoustic properties of percussion instruments and resonating chambers as early as 25,000 years ago; though much speculation suggests that humans likely used percussion instruments long before that.
As humans developed tools for hunting and eventually agriculture, their skill and technology enabled them to craft more complex instruments. For example, a simple log may have been carved to produce louder tones (a log drum) and instruments may have been combined to produce multiple tones (as in a 'set' of log drums).
