The first prehistoric wind instruments discovered in the Levant

Date:
June 9, 2023
Source:
CNRS
Summary:
Although the prehistoric site of Eynan-Mallaha in northern
Israel has been thoroughly examined since 1955, it still holds
some surprises for scientists. Seven prehistoric wind instruments
known as flutes were recently identified. The discovery of these
12,000 -year-old aerophones is extremely rare -- in fact, they
are thought to be the first to be discovered in the Near East.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Although the prehistoric site of Eynan-Mallaha in northern Israel has
been thoroughly examined since 1955, it still holds some surprises
for scientists.

Seven prehistoric wind instruments known as flutes, recently identified
by a Franco-Israeli team1, are the subject of an article published on
9 June in Nature Scientific Reports.

The discovery of these 12,000 -year-old aerophones is extremely rare
-- in fact, they are the first to be discovered in the Near East. The
"flutes," made from the bones of a small waterfowl, produce a sound
similar to certain birds of prey (Eurasian sparrowhawk and common kestrel)
when air is blown into them.

The choice of bones used to make these instruments was no accident --
larger birds, with bigger bones that produce deeper sounds, have also
been found at the site. The Natufians, the Near Eastern civilisation that occupied this village between 13,000 and 9,700 BC, deliberately selected smaller bones in order to obtain the high-pitched sound needed to imitate
these particular raptors. The instruments may have been used for hunting,
music or to communicate with the birds themselves. Indeed, it is clear
that the Natufians attributed birds with a special symbolic value,
as attested by the many ornaments made of talons found at Eynan-Mallaha.

The village, located on the shores of Lake Hula, was home to this
civilisation throughout its 3,000 years of existence. It is therefore of
vital importance in revealing the practices and habits of a culture at the crossroads between mobile and sedentary lifestyles, and the transition
from a predatory economy to agriculture. This work2 was supported by
the Fyssen Fondation and the ministe`re des Affaires e'trange`res.

Notes
1. The team is co-directed by Laurent Davin (post-doctoral researcher
at the
Fyssen Fondation) and Jose'-Miguel Tejero (University of
Vienna, University of Barcelona) and includes scientists
from the Centre de recherche franc,ais a` Je'rusalem
(CNRS/Aix-Marseille Universite'/ ministe`re de la Culture), the
laboratoire Technologie et ethnologie des mondes pre'historiques
(CNRS/Universite' Panthe'on-Sorbonne/Universite' Paris Nanterre),
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Institute of Archaeology),
Israel Antiquities Authority, Virginia Commonwealth University
(Department of Forensic Science), E'cole Nationale Ve'te'rinaire
(Laboratoire d'Anatomie compare'e, Nantes), the laboratoire
Arche'ologies et sciences de l'Antiquite' (CNRS/ministe`re de la
Culture/ Universite' Panthe'on-Sorbonne/Universite' Paris Nanterre)
and the l'Institut d'ethnologie me'diterrane'enne, europe'enne et
comparative (CNRS/Universite' Aix-Marseille).

2. Excavation of the Eynan-Mallaha site is still ongoing, under the
direction of CNRS researcher Fanny Bocquentin and Israel Antiquities
Authority researcher Lior Weisbrod.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Matter_&_Energy
# Wind_Energy # Acoustics # Forensic_Research #
Robotics_Research
* RELATED_TERMS
o Construction o Technology o Firestorm o Fullerene o Solar_wind
o Edwin_Hubble o Wind_turbine o Wind_power

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by CNRS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Laurent Davin, Jose'-Miguel Tejero, Tal Simmons, Dana Shaham,
Aure'lia
Borvon, Olivier Tourny, Anne Bridault, Rivka Rabinovich, Marion
Sindel, Hamudi Khalaily, Franc,ois Valla. Bone aerophones from
Eynan-Mallaha (Israel) indicate imitation of raptor calls by the
last hunter-gatherers in the Levant. Scientific Reports, 2023; 13
(1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023- 35700-9 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230609125643.htm

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