Prehistoric music

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Primitive music
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Prehistoric music (previously called primitive music) is a term in the

geological history. Prehistoric music is followed by ancient music in different parts of the world, but still exists in isolated areas. However, it is more common to refer to the "prehistoric" music which still survives as folk, indigenous or traditional music. Prehistoric music is studied alongside other periods within music archaeology.[citation needed
]

Findings from

Indus Valley civilization archaeological sites.[1] India has one of the oldest musical traditions in the world—references to Indian classical music (marga) are found in the Vedas, ancient Hindu scriptures.[2]

Origins of prehistoric instruments

Many languages traditionally have terms for music that include dance, religion, or cult[citation needed]. The context in which prehistoric music took place has also become a subject of study and debate, as the sound made by music in prehistory would have been somewhat different depending on the acoustics present. Some cultures include sound mimesis within their music; often, this feature is related to shamanistic beliefs or practice.[3][4] It may also serve entertainment[5][6] or practical functions, for example in hunting scenarios.[5]

It is likely that the first

hyoid bone with the modern human form has been dated to be 60,000 years old,[8] predating the oldest known Paleolithic bone flute by some 20,000 years,[9]
but the true chronology may date back much further.

Theoretically, music may have existed prior to the

bullroarers, and rasps have also been discovered. The latter musical finds date back as far as the Paleolithic era, although there is some ambiguity over archaeological finds which can be variously interpreted as either musical or non-musical instruments/tools.[10]

Another possible origin of music is

motherese, the vocal-gestural communication between mothers and infants. This form of communication involves melodic, rhythmic and movement patterns as well as the communication of intention and meaning, and in this sense is similar to music.[11]

dancing individual.[12] Similarly, communal singing occurs among both sexes in cooperatively breeding songbirds of Australia and Africa, such as magpies[13] and white-browed sparrow-weavers.[14]

Archaeoacoustic methodology

The field of archaeoacoustics uses acoustic techniques to explore prehistoric sounds, soundscapes, and instruments; it has included the study of ringing rocks and lithophones, of the acoustics of ritual sites such as chamber tombs and stone circles, and the exploration of prehistoric instruments using acoustic testing. Such work has included acoustic field tests to capture and analyze the impulse response of archaeological sites; acoustic tests of lithophones or 'rock gongs'; and reconstructions of soundscapes as experimental archaeology.

Africa

Egypt

Main article: Music of Egypt

In prehistoric Egypt, music and chanting were commonly used in magic and rituals. The ancient Egyptians credited the goddess Bat with the invention of music. The cult of Bat was eventually syncretised into that of Hathor because both were depicted as cows. Hathor's music was believed to have been used by Osiris as part of his effort to civilise the world. The lion-goddess Bastet was also considered a goddess of music. Rhythms during this time were unvaried and music served to create rhythm. Small shells were used as whistles.[15]: 26–30  During the predynastic period of Egyptian history, funerary chants continued to play an important role in Egyptian religion and were accompanied by clappers or a flute. Despite the lack of physical evidence in some cases, Egyptologists theorise that the development of certain instruments known of the Old Kingdom period, such as the end-blown flute, took place during this time.[15]: 33–34 

Libya

Entrance of Haua Fteah

Excavations in 1969 found a 90-115,000 year old bone flute fragment in the Haua Fteah cave in Libya. It has one manmade punctured hole, which resembles similar bone flutes found in Europe and the Mediterranean such as the Divje Babe Flute. The exact species the bone comes from is unknown, but it seems to have come from a large bird.[16]

Southern Africa

The peoples of Southern Africa in the South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia region used bone, clay, and metal for creating instruments, as idiophones and aerophones were the two types of instruments that were made. Spinning disks, bone tubes, and a bullroarer were found in the Southern and Western Capes of South Africa that date back from 2525±85 BP - 1732 AD. There were also many more bone tubes found in the Matjes River which may have been used for flutes, trumpets, whistles, bells, and mbira keys.[17] Numerous mbira keys were found in Zimbabwe that date back to 210±90 BP - Later Iron Age.[17]

Asia

China

In 1986, several

Chinese musical system.[citation needed
]

India

India has the oldest musical traditions in the world. References to

Hindu tradition.[2] Instruments such as the seven-holed flute and various types of stringed instruments have been recovered from the Indus Valley Civilisation archaeological sites.[18]

Israel

The 7 bone flutes found in Eynan-Mallaha

The peoples of Israel had prehistoric bones that were specifically aerophones. Several of these bones were excavated at Eynan-Mallaha and date back to 10,730 and 9760 cal BC. Smaller bird bones were preferred to bigger ones due to the difference in sound, although they are more difficult to play as a result of their size.[19] The pitch of the tone the flutes produce are believed to mimic the call of several birds. It is likely that the flute was used for music and dance rather than hunting, since it is limited by the small range of birds imitated. It is common for birds to be used as an inspiration for music such as the Sun Dance of the Plains Indians in which dancers used whistles to mimic eagles, or the Kaluli people who wore rainforest birds' feathers as ornaments.[19]

Vietnam

Two deer antlers were discovered in the Go O Chua site of southern Vietnam which were used as stringed instruments, they are dated to be at minimum 2,000 years old. One discovered in 1997, and the other in 2008. The instrument has a single string which was attached on both ends of the antler, with the burr of the antler forming a bridge.[20] The instrument is similar in form to a Đàn brố, or a K'ni. These are the first stringed instruments archaeologically discovered in Vietnam.[20]

Several lithophones were also found across the country which would have been laid down on strings with wooden or bamboo frames and struck to make noise.[20]

Australia

Main article: Indigenous music of Australia
Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. Music has formed an integral part of the social, cultural and ceremonial observances of these people, down through the millennia of their individual and collective histories to the present day, and has existed for 40,000 years.[21][22][23][24] The traditional forms include many aspects of performance and musical instrumentation which are unique to particular regions or Indigenous Australian groups; there are equally elements of musical tradition which are common or widespread through much of the Australian continent, and even beyond. The culture of the Torres Strait Islanders is related to that of adjacent parts of New Guinea and so their music is also related. Music is a vital part of Indigenous Australians' cultural maintenance.[25]

Traditional instruments

Didgeridoo

Buskers playing didgeridoos at Fremantle Markets, 2009
Main article: Didgeridoo

A didgeridoo is a type of musical instrument that, according to western musicological classification, falls into the category of aerophone. It is one of the oldest instruments to date. It consists of a long tube, without finger holes, through which the player blows. It is sometimes fitted with a mouthpiece of beeswax. Didgeridoos are traditionally made of eucalyptus, but contemporary materials such as PVC piping are used. In traditional situations it is played only by men, usually as an accompaniment to ceremonial or recreational singing, or, much more rarely, as a solo instrument. Skilled players use the technique of circular breathing to achieve a continuous sound, and also employ techniques for inducing multiple harmonic resonances. Traditionally the instrument was not widespread around the country, but was only used by Aboriginal groups in the most northerly areas.[citation needed]

Clapsticks

Main article: Clapstick

A clapstick is a type of musical instrument that, according to western musicological classification, falls into the category of percussion. Unlike drumsticks, which are generally used to strike a drum, clapsticks are intended for striking one stick on another, and people as well. They are of oval shape with paintings of snakes, lizards, birds and more.

Gum leaf

Used as a hand-held free reed instrument.

Bullroarer

Main article: Bullroarer

A bullroarer consists of a weighted airfoil (a rectangular thin slat of wood about 15 cm (6 in) to 60 cm (24 in) long and about 1.25 cm (0.5 in) to 5 cm (2 in) wide) attached to a long cord. Typically, the wood slat is trimmed down to a sharp edge around the edges, and serrations along the length of the wooden slat may or may not be used, depending on the cultural traditions of the region in question.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Bullroarer".

The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then swung in a large circle in a horizontal plane, or in a smaller circle in a vertical plane. The aerodynamics of the roarer will keep it spinning about its axis even after the initial twist has unwound. The cord winds fully first in one direction and then the other, alternating.

It makes a characteristic roaring vibrato sound with notable sound modulations occurring from the rotation of the roarer along its longitudinal axis, and the choice of whether a shorter or longer length of cord is used to spin the bullroarer. By modifying the expansiveness of its circuit and the speed given it, and by changing the plane in which the bullroarer is whirled from horizontal to vertical or vice versa, the modulation of the sound produced can be controlled, making the coding of information possible.

The low-frequency component of the sound travels extremely long distances, clearly audible over many miles on a quiet night.

The use of bullroarers has also been documented in ancient Greece, Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Mali, New Zealand, and the Americas (see Bullroarer). Banks Island Eskimos were still using bullroarers circa 1963 (59-year-old "Susie" being documented scaring off four polar bears armed with only three seal hooks and vocals.[26] Aleut, Eskimo and Inuit used bullroarers occasionally as a children's toy or musical instruments, but preferred drums and rattles.[27]

Europe

Austria and Hungary

Clay bells were found in Austria and Hungary which date to the early neolithic period. One is from the Starčevo site in Gellénháza, Hungary, and the other is from the Brunn site located on the outskirts of Vienna which was excavated in 1999. Unlike modern bells these bells lack a clapper. They were suspended by string and most likely struck with wooden sticks or animal bones.[28] Both bells were recreated and played, but neither were loud enough to be used as instruments, which might be why they were destroyed and thrown away.[28]

France

A one-of-a-kind Upper Paleolithic era Seashell Horn was discovered in the Marsoulas cave in 1931, which is made of a Charonia lampus shell. Dating back to the early Magdalenian period, it was modified to be played as a wind instrument by blowing air through the mouthpiece located at the apex. There are engravings on the inside of the lip, while unclear what the engravings represent, it is clear that they were intentional.[29]

Germany

In 2008, archaeologists discovered a bone flute in the

Neanderthals became extinct.[32]

Greece

Cycladic statues of a double flute player (foreground) and a harpist (background)
Further information:
mythology
.

Ireland

Aurignacian flute made from a vulture bone, Geissenklösterle (Swabia), which is about 35,000 years old
Divje Babe flute

The oldest known wooden pipes were discovered in Wicklow, Ireland, in the winter of 2003, carbon-dated at around 2167±30 BCE. A wood-lined pit contained a group of six flutes made from yew wood, between 30 and 50 cm (12 and 20 in) long, tapered at one end, but without any finger holes. They may once have been strapped together.[35]

Slovakia

A clay egg-shaped rattle, bottle-shaped rattles, and pan pipes made of bone were all discovered in Slovakia. They are dated back to 300-800 AD, during the Migration Period. Music culture in Slovakia had not formed until the 9th century while these instruments go back to 4-6th century AD, so while they cannot be connected to Slovak culture they prove that music had existed in this region at that time.[36] They may have been used for ceremonies, rituals, or cults for dancing and singing to ward off evil spirits or call to the gods for help.[36]

Slovenia

The oldest

Geißenklösterle cave received a new high-resolution carbon-dating examination yielding an age of 42,000 to 43,000 years.[40]

The Americas

Canada

Main article: Music of Canada

For thousands of years, Canada has been inhabited by Indigenous Peoples from a variety of

animal hides.[44] These musical instruments provide the background for songs and dances.[44]

See also

Notes

  1. ISBN 9788170173328
    .
  2. ^ a b Brown, RE (1971). "India's Music". Readings in Ethnomusicology.
  3. ^ Hoppál (2006), p. 143
  4. ^ Diószegi (1960), p. 203
  5. ^ a b Nattiez (2014), program notes, page 5
  6. ^ "Inuit Throat-Singing". www.mustrad.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  7. ISSN 2297-7775
    .
  8. S2CID 4309147
    .
  9. S2CID 165905083
    .
  10. ^ Iain Morley (October 2003). The Evolutionary Origins and Archaeology of Music (PDF) (Report). Darwin College Research Report. DCRR-002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-05.
  11. ISBN 9780262232067
    .
  12. ISBN 9780262232067
    .
  13. ^ Brown, Eleanor D. and Farabaugh, Susan M.; “Song Sharing in a Group-Living Songbird, the Australian Magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen. Part III. Sex Specificity and Individual Specificity of Vocal Parts in Communal Chorus and Duet Songs” in Behaviour, Vol. 118, No. 3/4 (September 1991), pp. 244–274
  14. doi:10.1163/156853906775900739. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2007-06-28.
  15. ^
    ISBN 8493279617
    .
  16. S2CID 161490302
    .
  17. ^
    S2CID 219474605
    .
  18. ^ The Music of India By Reginald MASSEY, Jamila MASSEY. Google Books
  19. ^
    PMID 37296190
    .
  20. ^
    S2CID 257039609
    .
  21. ISBN 978-1-86450-114-8
    . Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  22. ISBN 978-0-7546-4072-1
    . Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  23. JSTOR 23164573
    .
  24. S2CID 190738751
    .
  25. ^ Wilurarra Creative (2010). Music Archived 11 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ Douglas, William O. (May 1964). National Geographic. p. 722.
  27. ^ Inuit Music
  28. ^
    S2CID 244170026
    .
  29. PMID 33568488
    .
  30. S2CID 205216692
    . Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  31. ^ "Schwäbische Alb: Älteste Flöte vom Hohle Fels". www.spektrum.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  32. ^ a b "'Oldest musical instrument' found". BBC News. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  33. ^ "Music for cavemen". MSNBC. 2009-06-24. Archived from the original on 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  34. ^ "Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music". The New York Times. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  35. ^ Clint Goss (2012). "The Wicklow Pipes / The Development of Flutes in Europe and Asia". Flutopedia. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  36. ^
    S2CID 239230334
    .
  37. ^
    S2CID 55161909. Archived from the original
    on 2012-12-22.
  38. ^ Tenenbaum, David (June 2000). "Neanderthal jam". The Why Files. University of Wisconsin, Board of Regents. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
  39. ^ Flute History, UCLA. Retrieved June 2007.
  40. ^ "Earliest music instruments found". 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  41. ISBN 978-0-313-05506-5
    .
  42. ^
    ISBN 0-02-975610-3
    .
  43. ^ "The Aboriginal Curatorial Collective". kingfisher (ACC/CCA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  44. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7735-3443-8
    .

References

Further reading

External links
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