Probably the earliest depiction of a gourd bodied instrument in the New World, is the Strum Strum. This picture appeared in A Voyage to the Islands of Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christopher and Jamaica, with the Natural History of the Last of These Islands by Hans Sloane and was published in 1707 in London, England. His voyage had taken place in 1687 and the instrument was described thusly: the ‘strum-strum’ is "made of small Gords fitted with Necks, strung with Horse hairs, or the peeled stalks of climbing plants ...sometimes made of hollow’d Timber covered with Parchment or other Skin wetted, having a Bow for its neck..." Unlike some of the earliest ancestors of the banjo, the strum strum had a flat neck, as opposed to a round pole. It also lacks a short "thumb string".
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