Even tragic fate Dr Robert Ball, who died sounding a Bronze Age metal horn, has not deterred archaeologists from attempting to sound prehistoric and ancient musical instruments. And so from some of the original instruments, after hundreds, thousands and even tens of thousands of years, sounds flowed again. Numerous replicas and copies of these instruments were also used. But how can we be sure that the sounds produced today are at least partially similar to those heard by people of the distant past? Frankly, it seems to us that the results of experimental archeology in this area will always be problematic. However, we have no other way yet. The most ancient musical instruments that have reached us are bone pipes and flutes. They were found at many Late Paleolithic sites scattered throughout the then inhabited territory. The sounds extracted from them were reflected from the white limestone massifs of the Pavlovsk hills in South Moravia and were heard in the vicinity of present-day Petřkovice. One such tool, originating from the Istalloskö cave in Hungary, is made from the femur of a cave bear. It has two holes on the front and one on the back wall. If this instrument is played like a transverse flute, it produces the tones “A”, “B flat”, “B” and “E”.
The most ancient musical instruments that have come down to us are bone pipes and flutes. They were found at many Late Paleolithic sites scattered throughout the then inhabited territory. The sounds extracted from them were reflected from the white limestone massifs of the Pavlovsk hills in South Moravia and were heard in the vicinity of present-day Petřkovice. One such tool, originating from the Istalloskö cave in Hungary, is made from the femur of a cave bear. It has two holes on the front and one on the back wall. If this instrument is played like a transverse flute, it produces the tones “A”, “B flat”, “B” and “E”.
Archaeologists discovered on the banks of the Desna near Chernigov a whole set of bone musical instruments, which made it possible to form a very decent orchestra 20 thousand years ago. Six musicians could choose to their taste a pipe or syrinx (Pan's flute), a xylophone from the two lower jaws of a mammoth or a drum from a piece of skull, a timpani from the shoulder blade and pelvic bones with a stick from a mammoth tusk, or a rattle from several bone plates. Along with them, a percussionist from Mezin in Ukraine could take part in the concert, for whom a set of carved bones allowed him to play a six-tone scale by striking a stick. Finally, to complete our understanding of the Paleolithic orchestra, let us recall the long-known fresco in the French cave of the Three Brothers (Trois Freres): a hunter dressed in animal skin plays a kind of musical bow, reminiscent of instruments that are still used by some African tribes .
Pan flutes (consisting of several pipes of different lengths) have existed since the Late Paleolithic, but only a few examples have survived. Pipes dating back to the 5th century BC. e., have from four to seven trunks. And a three-thousand-year-old artifact from Poland, found in the burial of an elderly man, consists of nine pipes that make the sounds “do, re, mi, sol, la, do, re, mi, sol.” It is a two-octave pentatonic scale, and if consciously realized as a musical formation, its existence in prehistoric Poland makes a striking impression. At Malhelm Tarn in Yorkshire, English archaeologists discovered a recorder dating back to last centuries before the change of chronology. They managed to extract the tones “C, C sharp and F” from the instrument.
The oldest ocarina, which also belongs to the class of pipes, comes from Austria and was made at the end of the third millennium BC. e. It has a single injection hole and a characteristic oval resonator chamber. She plays “A, B flat, B, C.”
These and similar instruments have a fortunately limited potential sound range. Therefore, based on experiments, we can say with a certain degree of plausibility that it was these sounds or some of them that people listened to in prehistoric times.
The next group of wind instruments consists of horns and trumpets various types. Researchers are, in principle, unanimous that the prototype for musical horns was the horns of animals, and the prototype for musical trumpets were tubular bones.
Probably the best known of these instruments are the Late Bronze Age luras. They are made of bronze, their length is from one to two meters. Usually they are paired, and of the same size, but curved in opposite directions. Both instruments were tuned to the same key, and playing two luras at the same time either led to heterophony ("dissonance") or caused accidental harmony (consonance). The first experiments with lurs were carried out by the creator of three centuries of archaeological periodization, Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. Recent research in Denmark has shown that most lurs can produce between seven and nine tones, which is likely to be within the capabilities of Bronze Age musicians. Professional trumpeters, using all sorts of tricks, even played sixteen tones. Mouthpieces on lurs come in a variety of varieties and are not very convenient for playing music. Likewise, shortcomings in processing internal parts instruments force us to express an opinion about the relative indifference of ancient musicians to the purity of musical expression - we judge this, of course, from a modern point of view.
Next musical instrument large sizes is an Iron Age Celtic horn originating from Ardbreen in Ireland. Its height is almost two and a half meters. It narrows approximately to the middle like a bell, and then takes the shape of a cylinder, ending abruptly without any mouthpiece rounding. The instrument was voiced using a simple metal mouthpiece; it produced three tones: B flat, F, B flat. It is curious that without a mouthpiece the experimenter was able to extract as many as seven tones. The sounds of this horn are like two peas in a pod to the sounds extracted from the paired Danish lur from Brudevelte.
The largest "family" of metal horns survives in Ireland. They date back to approximately 900-600 BC. e. We know almost a hundred instruments, of which twenty-five can be voiced. There are two types of horns. In some, air is blown in at the end, in others - from the side. Archaeologists have not yet discovered a single mouthpiece from instruments with a hole in the side. Therefore, it is not certain that mouthpieces were even used in this embodiment. Each of these horns can produce a single tone, but their overall range extends from G to D sharp. The lowest tone (produced by an eighty-centimeter horn) is salt. This is followed by a group of horns sounding A and A sharp. Finally, half-meter horns gave C sharp, D, D sharp. Horns in which air is blown from the end turned out to be much more musical. The experimenter was able to extract four tones from some of them.
The low quality and stability of the tones extracted from Irish horns suggest that the main thing for both listeners and performers was, first of all, the very existence of these huge, majestic instruments, and not the specific sounds they produced.
John Coles notes that the total noise that would have been produced if all twenty-four horns and twice as many rattles had sounded simultaneously at the Dauris site in Central Ireland would undoubtedly have awakened the living and the dead.
Next group prehistoric instruments made up of clay and metal rattles.
How easy it is to make them sound, and how little they add to understanding ancient music! Clay rattles have existed since the Neolithic. Neolithic also adds ceramic drums. Replicas of two of them, made by experimenters based on finds in the Czech Republic (the heads were covered with cowhide), produced such loud, piercing sounds that they were undoubtedly used only in open space. At the same time, the height of the drums did not exceed 20 and 26 cm, respectively.
Of a different kind percussion instruments ancient musicians made them from bones, turtle shells and shells, which they struck with their hands or sticks. A model of such an instrument, based on Mayan frescoes, produced three different tones depending on which parts of the shell were struck.
It is believed that music appeared when the first people appeared. Its oral form, that is, song, was present in the life of our ancient ancestors. Modern scientists suggest that music has been around for about 50,000 years. Now, firmly rooted in human hearts, it has become an integral part of our lives.
The oldest copy of a musical instrument was found during excavations in Germany. It lay next to sculptures that date back to 35,000-40,000 BC. It was a flute. Its thickness does not exceed 8 mm, and its length is 21.8 cm. There are 5 holes punched in the case, which were closed with the fingers when playing.
Archaeologists were lucky enough to find another remains of ancient musical instruments - tweeters and flutes dating back to the Paleolithic era - on the territory of modern Moldova and Hungary.
Music was an integral part of the life of the ancient Greeks. Even its name itself comes from Greek language. Popular musical instruments here were:
- aulos - a wind instrument consisting of two conical or cylindrical pipes;
- lyre and cithara - strings plucked instruments, made in the form of a curved frame and strings (the cithara had more of them than the lyre);
- Syringa is a variation of the multi-barrel flute, a wind instrument consisting of a series of connected tubes.
The most ancient Chinese instruments Guqin and bamboo flute are considered. Traditionally, tools in China are classified according to the material from which they are made. Stone, wooden, leather, silk, bamboo, pumpkin and clay musical instruments still exist there.
In India, music is inextricably linked with dance. This country is the homeland musical theater. The oldest musical instrument found in India is the basalt lithophone, which is 3,000 years old.
Ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, India and China made enormous contributions to the development of music and musical instruments. Evidence of the presence of music in Ancient Egypt lyrics written in hieroglyphs on papyri and tomb walls appear. Popular subjects for them were hymns to the gods and women's songs of lament over the dead. The music was mainly of a religious nature. In Babylon, temple music performed by priests and secular music performed by slave musicians also developed at an intensive pace.
After thousands of years, music is still one of the most popular and beloved arts. It is difficult to meet a person who does not love music - there is a style and instrument for everyone.
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Modern scientists believe that the first representatives of Homo sapiens, Homo sapiens, appeared in Africa approximately 160 thousand years ago. About one hundred and ten thousand years later, primitive people settled across all continents of our planet. And they have already brought music in its primitive form to new lands. From different tribes musical forms differed, but common primary sources can be clearly traced. It follows that music as a phenomenon originated on the African continent before the settlement of prehistoric people around the world. And this was at least 50 thousand years ago.
Terminology
Prehistoric music manifested itself in an oral musical tradition. Otherwise it is called primitive. The term "prehistoric" is usually applied to the musical tradition of the ancients European peoples, and in relation to the music of representatives of other continents, other terms are used - folklore, traditional, popular.
Ancient musical instruments
First musical sounds- This is a person’s imitation of the voices of animals and birds during a hunt. And the first musical instrument in history is the human voice. With the strength of the vocal cords, a person could already masterfully reproduce sounds in a wide range: from the singing of exotic birds and the chirping of insects to the roar of a wild animal.
The hyoid bone, which is responsible for the production of sounds, according to anthropologists, was formed approximately 60 thousand years ago. Here is another starting date in the history of music.
But prehistoric music was not produced only by voice. There were others, in particular palms. Clapping hands or knocking stones against each other are the first manifestations of rhythm created by man. And one of the subtypes of primitive music is the sound of grinding grain in the hut of a primitive man.
The first prehistoric musical instrument, the existence of which is officially confirmed by archaeologists, is. In its primitive form it was a whistle. The whistle pipe acquired holes for the fingers and became a full-fledged musical instrument, which was gradually improved to the form of a modern flute. Prototypes of the flute were discovered during excavations in southwestern Germany, dating back to the period 35-40 thousand years BC.
The role of prehistoric music
Many people believe that music can tame the most ferocious animal. And ancient man subconsciously began to use sounds to attract or repel animals. The opposite is also possible: that music pacified man, turning him from a beast into a thinking and feeling creature.
The prehistoric period in the history of music ends at the moment when music passes from oral tradition to written tradition.
German scientists published an article about an interesting find - an antique flute. According to paleontologists, the found tool was made about 35,000 years ago during the colonization of Europe by modern people. To date, this flute is the oldest musical instrument ever discovered by man.
Researchers say that music was especially common in prehistoric times. Scientists suggest that it was she who became a contributing factor in the development of human personality. Perhaps, thanks to music, the Neanderthal moved to another higher stage of his development. A team of researchers from the University of Tübingen has published a report of flutes found in old caves in southwest Germany. This cave has become widely known due to the fact that from time to time archaeologists discover evidence in it that people previously lived here. In May last year, members of the same archaeological group discovered a statue in the same cave, which today is one of the oldest previously discovered objects belonging to ancient people.
The best preserved flute was made from the bone of a vulture's wing. What is this tool? This is a fairly long tube with two V-shaped notches at the end of the tool. As the researchers suggest, these are special holes so that the flute player can blow into the hole and reproduce the corresponding musical sounds. Fragments of the other two flutes are not as well preserved as the first.
However, scientists have determined that they are made of ivory, presumably taken from mammoth tusks. Total number There are eight flutes found today, four of which are made from mammoth tusks, and the second half from bird bones. As Tubing University professor Nicola Conard said, these kinds of finds really prove that music was widespread 40,000 years ago, when people began to settle in the territory of modern Europe. It is clear that music has been an integral part of human existence. Music has been used in many areas of life: religion, work. However, the main purpose of music to this day remains approximately the same as many years ago - to please people and significantly simplify some moments in people's lives.
Researchers also suggest that ancient people had a special creative spirit. This is why music was so important to them. She helped them every day in achieving their goals and mental development. As Professor Conard stated, modern people have been familiar with fine arts and musical traditions. To this day, scientists are faced with interesting finds, such as, for example, symbolic artifacts, images of mythological creatures, as well as various decorations, made many thousands of years ago.
Such finds help shed light on the social and everyday life of our distant ancestors. That is why all these objects found in different places and in different time, are of great interest to science. Researchers argue that it was the early appearance of culture and art in human life that became the reason that the ancestors of the early modern people and Neanderthals survived in such difficult and harsh conditions.
Music and other forms of art could make a significant contribution to the maintenance of many areas of life ancient man. Perhaps it was culture and art that helped to modern man, when it comes to the territorial and demographic expansion of Europe. It is worth noting that the Neanderthal population was much more conservative and isolated in terms of mental and territorial development. This is the point of view of the famous British researcher Professor Chris Stringer. It is worth noting that he is not alone in his opinion and judgment on this issue.
The found flutes are another confirmation of how different the development of the ancestors of modern people and Neanderthals was, how significant the difference was in spiritual development both types. It is possible that the traditions, art and culture of our ancestors go back much deeper. It is likely that music and other arts existed more than 50,000 years ago. But evidence of this has not yet been found. Scientists from many countries around the world are actively working on this.
Surprisingly, the first musical instrument is considered to be the person himself, and the sound he makes is his own voice. Primitive people Using their voices, they informed their fellow tribesmen about their emotions and transmitted information. At the same time, in order to add brightness to their story, they clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and knocked with stones or sticks. Gradually, ordinary objects surrounding a person began to transform into musical instruments.
According to the method of producing sounds, musical instruments can be divided into percussion, wind and strings. How and when man first began to use objects to create music is unknown. But historians suggest the following development of events.
Percussion instruments were made from carefully dried animal skins and a variety of hollow objects: large fruit shells, large wooden blocks. People hit them with sticks, palms, and fingers. The extracted melodies were used in ritual ceremonies and military operations.
Wind instruments were made from animal horns, bamboo and reed reeds, and hollow animal bones. Such objects became a musical instrument when a person thought of making special holes in them. Remains have been found in southwest Germany ancient flute, whose age exceeds 35 thousand years! Moreover, there are references to such tools in ancient rock paintings.
First string instrument considered a hunting bow. An ancient hunter, pulling the bowstring, noticed that when he plucked it, it began to “sing.” And if you run your fingers along the stretched vein of the animal, it “sings” even better. The sound will be long if the vein is rubbed with animal hair. So a man came up with a bow and a stick with a tuft of hair stretched over it, which was moved along a string made of animal veins.
The most ancient, over 4,500 years old, are the lyre and the harp, which were used by many peoples of that time. Of course, it is impossible to say exactly what those ancient instruments looked like. One thing is clear: musical instruments, albeit quite primitive, were part of the culture of primitive people.