Carolinas and the Mountain Dulcimer

Of course, we from the Carolinas want to believe that it was our ancestors who invented the mountain dulcimer and most imagine that it looked pretty much like the one we play (actually, we have several variations...). Seems that the beginnings were more scattered than just the Carolinas, tho. Kentucky, the Virginias and Tennessee have very strong roots in our journeys. And of course, the current sound resembles the Celtic pipes with the droning but, the German hummel was the most likely direct ancestor.