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In the history of music, prehistoric music (previously called primitive music) is all music produced in preliterate cultures (prehistory), beginning somewhere in very late geological history. Prehistoric music is followed by ancient music in most of Europe (1500 BCE) and later musics in subsequent European-influenced areas, but still exists in isolated areas. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Ancient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music. ... Early music is commonly defined as European classical music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque. ... In music the common practice period is a long period in western musical history spanning from before the classical era proper to today, dated, on the outside, as 1600-1900. ... 20th century classical music, the classical music of the 20th century, was extremely diverse, beginning with the late Romantic style of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Impressionism of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and continuing through the Neoclassicism of middle-period Igor Stravinsky, and ranging to such distant sound-worlds as the complete... In the broadest sense, contemporary music is any music being written in the present day. ... For the academic study of history of music, see Music history. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... Literacy is the ability to use text to communicate across space and time. ... Stonehenge, England, erected by Neolithic peoples ca. ... Geological history describes geological events that account for the straitigraphy, petrology and structure (see structural geology) seen in rocks or earth materials. ... Ancient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music. ...

Prehistoric music thus technically includes all of the world's music that has existed before the advent of any currently-extant historical sources concerning that music, for example, traditional Native American music of preliterate tribes and Australian Aboriginal music. However, it is more common to call the "prehistoric" music of non-European continents, especially that which still survives, as folk, indigenous or traditional music. IDNIANS SUCK BALLS American Indian music is the musics that are shared by or that distinguish American Indian tribes and First Nations. ... Ŵú Australian Aborigines are the native peoples of Australia. ... Folk song redirects here. ...

Origin of music

The origin of music is not known as it occurred prior to the advent of recorded history. Some suggest that the origin of music likely stems from naturally occurring sounds and rhythms. Human music may echo these phenomena using patterns, repetition and tonality. Even nowadays, some cultures have certain instances of their music intending to imitate natural sounds. In some instances, this feature is related to shamanistic beliefs or practice.^[1][2] It may serve also entertainment (game)^[3][4] or practical (luring animals in hunt)^[3] functions. For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... This article is about audible acoustic waves. ... For the popular Tamil film, see Rhythm (film). ... A phenomenon (plural: phenomena) is an observable event, especially something special (literally something that can be seen from the Greek word phainomenon = observable). ... A pattern is a form, template, or model (or, more abstractly, a set of rules) which can be used to make or to generate things or parts of a thing, especially if the things that are generated have enough in common for the underlying pattern to be inferred or discerned... Look up Repetition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a key center or tonic. ... The imitation of natural sounds in various cultures is a diverse phenomenon. ... Shamanism in various cultures shows great diversity. ...

Even aside from the bird song, monkeys have been witnessed to beat on hollow logs. Although this might serve some purpose of territorialism, it suggests a degree of creativity and seems to incorporate a call and response dialogue. See: zoomusicology. Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys. ... Territorialism was a Jewish political movement calling for creation of a sufficiently large and compact Jewish territory (or territories), not necessarily in the Land of Israel and not necessarily fully autonomous. ... For other uses, see Dialogue (disambiguation). ... Zoomusicology is a field of musicology and zoology or more specifically, zoosemiotics. ...

It is possible that the first musical instrument was the human voice itself, which can make a vast array of sounds, from singing, humming and whistling through to clicking, coughing and yawning. (See Darwin's Origin of Species on music & speech.) The oldest known Neanderthal hyoid bone with the modern human form has been dated to be 60,000 years old,^[5] predating the oldest known bone flute by 10,000 years; but since both artifacts are unique the true chronology may date back much further. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... The human voice consists of sound made by a human using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying and screaming. ... Harry Belafonte singing, photograph by C. van Vechten Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech. ... A hum is a sound with a particular timbre (or sound quality), usually a monotone or with slightly varying tones, often produced by machinery in operation or by insects in flight. ... Whistling is the production of sound by means of a constant breath of air from the mouth. ... Clicks are stops produced with two articulatory closures in the oral cavity. ... For other uses, see Yawn (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Neanderthal (disambiguation). ... The hyoid bone (Os Hyoideum; Lingual Bone) is a bone in the human neck, not articulated to any other bone; it is supported by the muscles of the neck and in turn supports the root of the tongue. ... â™  This article is about the family of musical instruments. ...

Most likely the first rhythm instruments or percussion instruments involved the clapping of hands, stones hit together, or other things that are useful to create rhythm and indeed there are examples of musical instruments which date back as far as the paleolithic, although there is some ambiguity over archaeological finds which can be variously interpreted as either musical or non-musical instruments/tools. Examples of paleolithic objects which are considered unambiguously musical are bone flutes or pipes; paleolithic finds which are open to interpretation are pierced phalanges (usually interpreted as 'phalangeal whistles'), objects interpreted as bullroarers, and rasps. Percussion may refer to: A family of musical instruments – see percussion instrument; A method of clinical examination – see percussion (medicine). ... A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. ... For the popular Tamil film, see Rhythm (film). ... // The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Music can be theoretically traced to prior to the Oldowan era of the Paleolithic age, the anthropological and archeological designation that suggests when stone tools first began to be used by hominids. The noises produced by work such as pounding seed and roots into meal is a likely source of rhythm created by early humans. Oldowan is an anthropological designation for an industry of stone tools used by prehistoric hominids in the very early Paleolithic. ... // The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος = human) consists of the study of humankind (see genus Homo). ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Genera The hominids are the members of the biological family Hominidae (the great apes), which includes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. ... This article is about noise as in sound. ...

Prehistoric music varies greatly in style, function, general relation to culture, and complexity. The Timbila music of the Chopi is considered one of the most complex preliterate musics^{[citation needed]}. Musical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Mozambique is a former Portuguese colony, and its native folk musics have been highly influenced by Portuguese forms. ... The Chopi are an ethnic group of Mozambique. ...

The oldest flutes

The oldest flute may be the disputed "Neanderthal flute" found in the Slovenian cave Divje Babe I in 1995 by the Slovenian paleontologist Dr. Ivan Turk of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It is estimated to be about 43,000 years old and was found in the fifth Mousterian level (Middle Paleolithic). The artifact is a hollow femur of a juvenile cave bear containing holes. Whether it is truly a musical instrument or simply a carnivore-chewed bone is a matter of ongoing debate. â™  This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... Divje Babe is an archeological site located near Idrija in northwestern Slovenia. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts or SASA (Slovenian Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, SAZU) is a national academy of Slovenia, founded in 1938. ... Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools (or industry) associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age. ... // The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... The femur or thigh bone is the longest, most voluminous, and strongest bone of the mammalian bodies. ...

During the estimated time of its origin, neither the technology of working bones nor the necessary artistic (symbolic) behaviour are supposed to have been developed^{[citation needed]}, although weak signals exist for both^{[citation needed]}.

The earliest unambiguously musical bone pipe is from Geissenklösterle in Germany, dates to about 36,000BP and is associated with modern humans.

The oldest known wooden flutes were discovered near Greystones, Ireland, in 2004. A wood-lined pit contained a group of six flutes made from yew wood, between 30 and 50cm long, tapered at one end, but without any finger holes. They may once have been strapped together^[6]. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference O297122 Statistics Province: Leinster County: Elevation: 50 m Population (2002)  - Town:  - Rural:   10,303  1,610 Greystones (Irish: ) is a coastal town in County Wicklow, Ireland. ...

Oldest Chinese flutes

In 1986 several gudi (literally "bone flutes") were found in Jiahu in Henan Province, China. They date to about 6,000 BC. They have between 5 and 8 holes each and were made from the hollow bones of a bird, the red-crowned crane. At the time of the discovery, one was found to be still playable. The bone flute plays both the five- or seven-note scale of Xia Zhi and six-note scale of Qing Shang of the ancient Chinese musical system. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The gudi is one of the oldest instruments from China dating back to around 6000 B.C.E. Gudi (骨笛) literally means bone flute. ... 9000 years old Jiahu playable Flutes. ... Binomial name Grus japonensis (Statius Muller, 1776) The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis), also called the Japanese Crane and Manchurian Crane, is a large crane and is the second rarest crane in the world. ... Chinese musicology is the academic study of traditional Chinese music. ...

Cycladic culture

In the Aegean sea (eastern Mediterranean Sea), north of Crete lies a group of small islands known as the Cyclades (Κυκλαδες). On one of these, the island of Keros (Κερος), two marble statues from the late Neolithic culture called Early Cycladic culture (2900 BC-2000 BC) were discovered together in a single grave in the 19th century. They depict a standing double flute player and a sitting musician playing a triangular-shaped lyre or harp. The harpist is approximately 23 cm (nine inches) high and dates to around 2700-2500 BC. He expresses concentration and intense feelings and tilts his head up to the light. The meaning of these and many other figures is not known; perhaps they were used to ward off evil spirits or had religious significance or served as toys or depicted figures from mythology. Look up Aegean Sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Mediterranean redirects here. ... For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... The Cyclades (Greek Κυκλάδες) are a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and an administrative prefecture of Greece. ... Keros is a Greek island in the Cyclades. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... (Redirected from 2900 BC) (30th century BC - 29th century BC - 28th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2890 BC -- Egypt: End of First Dynasty, start of Second Dynasty 2900 - 2334 BC - Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period Significant persons Inventions, discoveries... (Redirected from 2000 BC) (21st century BC - 20th century BC - 19th century BC - other centuries) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 2064 - 1986 BC -- Twin Dynasty wars in Egypt 2000 BC -- Farmers and herders travel south from Ethiopia and settle in Kenya. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... “Lyres” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation). ... (Redirected from 2700 BC) (28th century BC - 27th century BC - 26th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period 2775 - 2650 BC -- Second Dynasty wars in Egypt Germination of the Bristlecone pine tree Methuselah... (Redirected from 2500 BC) (26th century BC - 25th century BC - 24th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period 2494 BC -- End of Fourth Dynasty, start of Fifth Dynasty in Egypt. ...

The discovery of this and similar pieces (they are very simplified and abstract in form) in the late 19th century had considerable influence on the sculpture of the early 20th century, for example on that by modernists such as Picasso and Modigliani. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... A young Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso, formally Pablo Ruiz Picasso, (October 25, 1881 - April 8, 1973) was one of the recognized masters of 20th century art. ... Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (July 12, 1884 – January 24, 1920) was an Italian artist, practicing both painting and sculpture, who pursued his career for the most part in France. ...

Earliest musical notation

Main article: Ancient music

The world's oldest known song is approximately 3,400 years old and written in Hurrian on a clay tablet found at the site of the city of Ugarit in the early 1950s. Due to the lack of confirmatory material translations of the text differ, although all current interpretations agree that the music is diatonic. On some interpretations the music consists of two melodic lines and utilises both major and minor thirds, on other interpretations the music consists of one melodic line (is monophonic) with a rhythmic accompaniment. Ancient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music. ... The word Hurrian may refer to: An ancient people of the Near East, the Hurrians. ... Excavated ruins at Ras Shamra. ... In music, the word texture is often used in a rather vague way in reference to the overall sound of a piece of music. ...

The First Delphic Hymn is the earliest unambiguous surviving example of notated music from anywhere in the world. The Delphic Hymns are two musical compositions from Ancient Greece, which survive in substantial fragments. ...

See also

• History of music
• Origin of language
• Origin of religion
• Behavioral modernity
• Prehistoric art
• Ethnomusicology
• Onomatopoeia
• Sound symbolism
• Imitation of natural sounds in various cultures

For the academic study of history of music, see Music history. ... The origin of language (glottogony) is a topic that has attracted considerable speculation throughout human history. ... The development of religion (religiopoiesis) can refer to the gradual emergence of religious behaviour during human evolution out of pre- or proto-religious ritual (origin of religion), or to the crafting of religion as part of the history of religion within a given culture. ... Behavioral modernity is a term used in anthropology and archeology to refer to an important milestone in the evolution of humans. ... In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate cultures (prehistory), beginning somewhere in very late geological history. ... Ethnomusicology, formerly comparative musicology, is cultural musicology or the study of music in its cultural context. ... For the supervillain, see Onomatopoeia (comics). ... Sound symbolism or phonosemantics is a branch of linguistics and refers to the idea that vocal sounds have meaning. ... The imitation of natural sounds in various cultures is a diverse phenomenon. ...

External links

• Ensemble Musica Romana: Music from Antiquity, Prehistoric music
• Sound sample and playing instructions for reconstructed bone flutes.
• Dr.Ann Buckely Publications
• International Study Group on Music Archaeology (International Council For Traditional Music)
• Information about a supposed Neanderthal flute found in Slovenia - the article written by Dr. Ivan Turk who discovered it.
• The Carnyx, an ancient and magnificient war/ceremonial Horn
• Hoppál, Mihály (2006). "Music of Shamanic Healing", in Gerhard Kilger: Macht Musik. Musik als Glück und Nutzen für das Leben. Köln: Wienand Verlag. ISBN 3879098654. 

Notes

A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

References

• Deschênes, Bruno (2002). Inuit Throat-Singing. Musical Traditions. The Magazine for Traditional Music Throughout the World.
• Diószegi, Vilmos (1960). Sámánok nyomában Szibéria földjén. Egy néprajzi kutatóút története (in Hungarian). Budapest: Magvető Könyvkiadó.  The book has been translated to English: Diószegi, Vilmos (1968). Tracing shamans in Siberia. The story of an ethnographical research expedition, Translated from Hungarian by Anita Rajkay Babó, Oosterhout: Anthropological Publications. 
• Hoppál, Mihály (2006). "Music of Shamanic Healing", in Gerhard Kilger: Macht Musik. Musik als Glück und Nutzen für das Leben. Köln: Wienand Verlag. ISBN 3879098654. 
• Nattiez, Jean Jacques, Inuit Games and Songs • Chants et Jeux des Inuit, Musiques & musiciens du monde • Musics & musicians of the world, Montreal: Research Group in Musical Semiotics, Faculty of Music, University of Montreal. The songs are online available from the ethnopoetics website curated by Jerome Rothenberg.

Jean-Jacques Nattiez is a musical semiologist or semiotician and professor of Musicology at the University of Montreal. ... Music semiology, the semiology of music, is the study of music and musicology as symbols, their meaning, and their effects on human behaviour. ... Ethnopoetics refers to poetic traditions which are typically seen as tribal or otherwise ethnic by the West (or indeed between any ethnoculturally different peoples). ... Jerome Rothenberg (born 1931) is an American poet and editor who is noted for his work in ethnopoetics. ...

Further reading

• Ellen Hickmann, Anne D. Kilmer and Ricardo Eichmann, (ed.) Studies in Music Archaeology III, 2001, VML Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH., Germany ISBN 3-89646-640-2
• Wallin, Nils, Bjorn Merker, and Steven Brown, eds., The Origins of Music, (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA., 2000). ISBN 0-262-23206-5. Compilation of essays.
• Engel, Carl, The Music of the Most Ancient Nations, Wm. Reeves, 1929.
• Haik_Vantoura,Suzanne (1976). The Music of the Bible Revealed ISBN 978-2249271021
• Nettl, Bruno (1956). Music in Primitive Culture. Harvard University Press.
• Sachs, Curt, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World, East and West, W.W. Norton, 1943.
• Sachs, Curt, The Wellsprings of Music, McGraw-Hill, 1965.
• Smith, Hermann, The World's Earliest Music, Wm. Reeves, 1904.