Missing Membranophones? : Traditional Drumbeaters in Northern Eurasia and Possible Prehistoric Parallels in European Archaeological Collections

Membranophones or drums have traditionally been thought to be among the earliest musical instruments, even though traces of drumskins or wooden frames or bowls are missing from the archaeological record. On the other hand, there are a large number of finds from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras that have not yet been convincingly interpreted, and which could be connected with drumming. Starting from historical and ethnographic perspectives, this article presents a selection of prehistoric antler artefacts and discusses their suitability as drumbeaters. Artefacts from European archaeological collections are examined and compared with antler artefacts that the Sámi and Siberian shamans from the 11th–20th centuries AD used for beating their drums.Peer reviewe

A glimpse behind closed doors. Alfred L. Kroeber and the representation of native Californian music.

This article looks into the early twentieth century history of anthropological approaches to the study of music. Specifically, it delves into Alfred L. Kroeber’s work on Native Californian cultures. It inquires into why Kroeber did not include music in his anthropological publications, despite collecting and analysing Native Californian music in private

Los sonidos de la Prehistoria: Reflexiones en torno a las evidencias de prácticas musicales del paleolítico y el neolítico en Eurasia

En este artículo presentamos una breve introducción historiográfica y metodológica de la arqueología musical y la arqueoacústica como subdisciplinas de la arqueología encargadas del estudio de las evidencias materiales de las prácticas musicales del pasado remoto, y realizamos un recorrido por los principales hallazgos arqueológicos relacionados con la música, el sonido y la acústica de los espacios desde el Paleolítico al Neolítico en Eurasia. Además, proponemos una serie de hallazgos como casos de estudio que van a permitir reflexionar en torno a la importancia cultural de la musicalidad, y los posibles usos y funciones de la música en aquellas sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras y de primeros agricultores

Experimental Enhancement of Feelings of Transcendence, Tenderness, and Expressiveness by Music in Christian Liturgical Spaces

In western cultures, when it comes to places of worship and liturgies, music, acoustics and architecture go hand in hand. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether the emotions evoked by music are enhanced by the acoustics of the space where the music was composed to be played on. We explored whether the emotional responses of western naïve listeners to two vocal pieces from the Renaissance, one liturgical and one secular, convolved with the impulse responses of four Christian temples from the United Kingdom, were modulated by the appropriate piece/space matching. In an alternative forced choice task where participants had to indicate their preference for the original recording of the piece (not convolved with any temple-like acoustics) vs. the convolved one, no significant differences were found. However, in the tasks where participants rated their emotional in response to each piece and acoustic condition, the factorial ANCOVA analyses performed on the results revealed significant effects. We observed that, across pieces and spaces, participants found the temple-like acoustics as more transcendent, compared to the acoustics of the original version of the pieces. In addition, they rated the secular piece as more tender and the liturgical piece as more expressive in its original versions, compared to the convolved ones. We conclude that the acoustic signature of the four Christian temples causes an exaltation of certain emotions on listeners, although this effect is not associated to one or another musical piece. Keywords: archaeoacoustics; auralization; emotion; music; psychoacoustics

Estudio acústico, arqueométrico y musicológico de instrumentos musicales arqueológicos: las trompetas de cerámica de Numancia (siglos III-I a.C.)

Celtiberian pottery trumpets of late Iron Age (3rd-1st centuries B.C.) are known since they were found at the beginnings of twentieth century in the archaeological excavations of the ancient town of Numantia. They are ultracircular labrosone aerophones which have been traditionally interpreted as signaling instruments or instruments used to make noise in war contexts. This paper presents the first work of acoustical characterization of these instruments, which has allowed the checking of their musical possibilities, its capability to articulate different tones and, consequently, to produce not only simple signals or noise but also easy melodies. For this purpose an acoustical and musical study with modern reproductions of these instruments was carried out and such reproductions were compared with fragments of original Numantian trumpets, which has brought new and interesting data to musical archaeology of late Iron Age in the Iberian Peninsula.Las trompetas cerámicas celtibéricas de finales de la Edad del Hierro (siglos III-I a. C.) se conocen desde que se hallaron a principios del siglo XX en las excavaciones arqueológicas de la antigua ciudad de Numancia. Se trata de aerófonos de boquilla (labrosones) ultracirculares que tradicionalmente se han interpretado como instrumentos de señalización o como instrumentos para hacer ruido en contextos bélicos. Este artículo presenta el primer trabajo de caracterización acústica de estos instrumentos, que ha permitido comprobar sus posibilidades musicales, su capacidad para articular diferentes tonos y, en consecuencia, producir no sólo señales simples o ruido sino también melodías sencillas. Para realizar el trabajo se llevó a cabo un estudio acústico y musical con reproducciones modernas de estos instrumentos y éstas se compararon con fragmentos de trompetas numantinas originales, lo cual ha aportado nuevos e interesantes datos a la arqueología musical de finales de la Edad del Hierro en la Península Ibérica

Living landscapes and sound ontologies in Altai (Siberia, Russia): the European Artsoundscapes project (ERC ref. 787842) and the challenge of the intangible context of rock art

En este artículo explicamos varios de los avances obtenidos en el proyecto del ERC Artsoundscapes. Comenzamos encuadrando la arqueoacústica en la evolución del pensamiento arqueológico de estas últimas décadas y en concreto en la importancia del estudio de los sentidos en arqueología. Como explicamos en el trabajo, para el desarrollo de esta subdisciplina el diseño de una metodología rigurosa e interdisciplinar ha constituido una de las principales preocupaciones. Nuestro trabajo de campo en Altai sirve para ejemplificar cómo hemos llevado a cabo nuestro cometido en la práctica. En esta área el arte rupestre, con una cronología de principios del III milenio aproximadamente a mitad del I milenio de nuestra era, con añadidos esporádicos posteriores, se concentra en algunos lugares hoy denominados santuarios. Los destacables datos obtenidos para claridad del habla y musical se consideran dentro del marco ontológico de las poblaciones indígenas de Altai, quienes mantienen que la dimensión acústica es un factor importante en la relación entre los seres humanos y los paisajes que habitan

Modelando Sonidos: intrumentos musicales de barro en los museos españoles. Una aproximación desde la Etnoarqueología, Etnomusicología y la Arqueología Experimental

La arcilla es un mineral que se ha utilizado para la fabricación de instrumentos musicales y artefactos sonoros desde el Neolítico. En el registro arqueológico ibérico son numerosos los restos arqueo organológicos realizados con este material desde la Prehistoria hasta el presente. En este artículo pretendemos hacer un repaso de los instrumentos de barro que se encuentran en los museos nacionales, poniéndolos en relación con los instrumentos etnográficos que continúan siendo utilizados, tanto en la Península Ibérica, como en el Magreb actual. Además, proponemos una metodología que aborda su estudio y puesta en valor, en la que la Etnoarqueología, Etnomusicología y la Arqueología Experimental tienen un papel fundamental. Clay is a material that has been used for the manufacture of musical instruments and sound artefacts from Neolithic times. In the Iberian archaeological record, the archaeo-organological remains made of this material are numerous from Prehistory to the present. This article aims to review the clay objects found in national museums, relating them to the ethnographic instruments that continue to be used nowadays in the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. In addition, we propose a methodology for the study of these instruments, where Ethnoarchaeology, Ethnomusicology and Experimental Archaeology play a fundamental role

Archaeometry and acoustics in the study of reproductions of celtiberian ceramic trumpets and their comparison with numantine trumpets

Con permiso de la revista para autores CSIC.An archaeometric and acoustic study is combined for the first time in the research of Celtiberian pottery trumpets of late Iron Age (3rd – 1st centuries BC). Modern reproductions of such pottery trumpets were analyzed, as well as a set of fragments of original Numantian trumpets of archaeological provenance, with the aim of determining the acoustic properties of the former and their relationship with the modern and ancient ceramic material. The results suggest that they were not only used to produce noise and signals, as they have been traditionally interpreted, but also they could be used to reproduce simple melodies to play alone or accompanied by other instruments.Proyecto europeo EMAP (European Music Archaeology Project, ref. 536370-CU-1-2013), programa Top Heritage (S2018/NMT-4372, CAM-EU), red TechnoHeritage y PTI-PAIS (Plataforma Temática Interdisciplinar, CSIC).Peer reviewe