MUSIC in PRE-HISTORY

The thought that ancient people were making music is quite amazing. The Celts, Greeks, and Romans are very modern when you stop and think that before the last Ice-Age, (see timeline), humans were already making music. Some modern evidence also shows that ?non-humans? were using musical instruments. There are the remains of a bone-whistle that dates back to the Neanderthals....so what is human?

In Britain we have hardly any evidence of pre-historical musical instruments, even though we know that music and singing were loved by the Celts. To give you some idea of the sounds of ancient instruments we have to look further afield. The following items come from finds in Scandinavia, both original and reconstructed.

On this page you will find pictures of ancient ways of making music, and sound clips of originals and reconstructions.

This is just a small selection.
More information at the bottom of the page.
Sound files take a little longer to down load, so please wait.

	MOUTH BOW The bow was made of rowan wood (mountain ash),75 cm long and strung with a length of chewed, plaited elk tendon. The string is put in the mouth, but not touching! The mouth cavity acts as an amplifier. Tonal changes are achieved by varying the mouth shape.
	BONE TUBE Or end-blow flutes. They are made of bird-bones, which are naturally hollow. The sound is produced by blowing across and into the top, with a finger blocking the base. Different notes can be obtained by turning it over and using the other end (different diameters)
	SCRAPER Made of animal thigh bones with notches cut into them. The one heard is 11 cm long and has seven notches. It is played by holding one end in the hand and putting the other end on a hollow log, (it acts as an amplifier), and rubbing against the notches with another bone held in the the other hand.
	OX HORN A natural ox horn, in that it has no finger holes to change the notes. It has bronze fittings on both ends, plus a carrying chain. It is heard as a signal horn with drums in the background. Early Iron Age
	JANGLE PLATES Made of bronze, these jangle plates are 5 cm in diameter, and were cast. They are mounted on a hanging ring and were used as decoration on a horse harness Late Bronze Age
	BRONZE LUR These were the forerunners to modern brass instruments. The lurs are between 1.60 - 2.40 meters long! Made of thin bronze sheet and frequently made in pairs. A modern player can get 8 -12 natural notes from them. Late Bronze Age