Jaw harps or Jew’s Harps are musical instruments that can be found all across the globe – with extensive evidence in the archaeological record, historical documentation, and living musical traditions. The earliest archaeological evidence of such instruments can be traced back to Northern Asia around 1800 BC. These instruments belong to the lamellophone and aerophone families. They comprise a frame held against the teeth or lips, and a reed/tongue that is plucked to vibrate and produce sound. The shape of the oral cavity and breath are used to alter the timbre and pitch. Across cultures, they find their place in the music of courtship, shamanic practices, and communication. Contemporary Southeast Asia is home to various forms of jaw harps, predominantly of idioglot form (one-piece construction), such as the bamboo Kubing of the Maranao and the brass Dan Moi of the Hmong. In the archaeological record, much is known about the westward dispersal of the heteroglot form (two-piece construction) of the instrument, but the same cannot be said for its dispersal into Southeast Asia. Unlike the heteroglot forms of the instrument that are usually made from forged and cast metals, the idioglot forms in Southeast Asia are mostly constructed from bamboo and thin brass sheets. They are more susceptible to decomposition. Despite the scarcity in the archaeological record, morphological analysis of the Southeast Asian instruments reveal phylogenetic links to the earliest forms excavated in Northern Asia. Through a morphological phylogeny of ethnographic examples, it is possible to trace the Southeast Asian dispersal of the idioglot jaw harp – a movement that appears to predate the westward dispersal of the heteroglot form.