A few years ago, we have brought you the transcription and some audio interpretations of the world’s oldest known songs discovered in the Ugarit city of ancient Syria and date back to the 14th century BC. Modern musicologists can only guess the tempo and rhythm of songs, but they can be played on instruments similar to ancient lyres.
Long before the advent of writing systems, going back further, we are completely at a loss as to what music prehistoric people might prefer. But we know that music is likely to be part of their daily lives just as much as it belongs to us. And there is some healthy evidence of the type of instrument they played. In 2008, archaeologists discovered fragments of flute carved from vulture and mammoth bones at a Stone Age cave site called Holefels in southern Germany. These instruments It dates back 42,000 to 43,000 years ago It could replace previous findings Flutes on nearby sites 35,000 years ago.
Images via The Archeology News Network
The flute is meticulously made, Report National Geographicthe mammoth bone flute in particular would have been “particularly challenging to make.” At the time of their discovery, the researchers speculated that the flute could be “one of the cultural achievements that gave the first modern European man. (Homo Sapiens) Settlers are their advantages with the now extinct Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) cousin. “However, much of our knowledge about the Neanderthals is New evidence of mating and Homo sapiensthese conclusions may need to be revised.
Perhaps the Neanderthals, who have been significantly resting, have created their own flute. Alternatively, it may be suggested that the discovery of a flute made from a cave bear femur in 1995. Discovered by archaeologist Ivantark at the Neanderthal campground at Divje Baby in Northwestern Slovenia, the instrument (above) is estimated to be over 43,000 years old, perhaps 80,000 years old. According to musicologist Bob Finkthe four finger holes on the flute match four notes on the diatonic (do, re, mi…) scale. “Unless you deny that it’s a flute,” Fink argues that the flute’s notes are “an inevitable diatoms and sound like an almost perfect fit on any kind of standard diatom scale, modern or antique.” To show the point, the curators of the National Museum of Slovenia had replicas of clay made of flute. You can hear Slovenian musician Ljuben Dimkaroski performed at the top of the post.
Prehistoric instruments actually produce whole and half of the tone of the diatonic scale, so in reality Dimkaroski can play some fragments of composition by Beethoven, Verdi, Ravel, Dvorak, and others. Video’s YouTube Page He described his musical choice as “potpourri in pieces from the compositions of various authors.” (Dimkaroski claims he found a way to play musical instruments in his dreams.) Archaeologists have heatedly debated whether the flute is actually a Neanderthal work, but as a Turkish person, he has a passionate discussion. ProposedIf so, the finding would be contradictory claim Close human relatives “leave no solid evidence that they were musical.” But whatever its origins, it certainly isn’t a predator work, but an artifact of humanity, and it seems to be the key to unleashing the prehistoric era of musical representation.
Note: Previous versions of this post were published on our site in 2015.
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Josh Jones He is a writer and musician based in Durham, North Carolina. Follow him in @jdmagness
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
