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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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instruments

Representational image of an aboriginal man playing a didgeridoo. Source: Mockup Station / Adobe Stock

The Aboriginal Didgeridoo Was a Tool for Healing and Peace

Never has it been more important to search for clues to finding healing and peace in the world. With that in mind, it appears that within ancient Aboriginal societies the didgeridoo is believed to...
The cow’s head on the Silver Lyre. Source: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Bask in the Beauty and Melody of the Ancient Mesopotamian Lyres of Ur

It is unknown which culture was the first to create music, but a set of beautiful Sumerian instruments from the city of Ur provide us with some insight into the world of ancient music. Over 4,000...
Indian Tanpura. Source: Arash / Adobe Stock.

India’s Ancient Instruments Made from Pumpkins (Video)

The Abdul Majeed family has been hand-carving musical instruments out of pumpkins for seven generations, a craft that has been practiced for almost 200 years in the city of Mirage, in Western India...
The Pacopampa priest’s tomb in its cleaned-up state, which was found by Peruvian and Japanese archaeologists in the Cajamarca of Peru. Source: Peruvian Ministry of Culture

Newly Discovered 1000 BC Pacopampa Priest’s Tomb in Peru Is Turning Heads

A team of archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the tomb of a religious leader from ancient Peru at the Pacopampa site, a priestly figure, who was baptized as the “priest of the...
Left to right; Germanic lyre - the best-preserved lyre from Dzhetyasar  - A replica of the Sutton Hoo lyre. 	Source: Left to right: CC BY-SA 4.0 /  G. Kolltveit / A Praefcke / Antiquities Publications Ltd

Experts Surprised By Similarities Of Sutton Hoo Lyre and Eastern Specimen

A recent re-examination of artifacts from Soviet era digs in the Dzhetyasar territory in southwest Kazakhstan has identified a fourth-century AD lyre that shows remarkable similarity with the one...
Dramatic mask with tusks and feathers, Ninghai, Zhejiang, China

Ferocious Beast-Head Masks, Heavy Robes & Swirling Colors: What are the Unspoken Messages in Ancient Chinese Opera?

In “Civilization of China” (1911), Herbert Giles wrote that “for pleasure pure and simple, independent of gains and losses, the theater occupies the warmest place in every Chinaman's heart”. The fact...
Main: An ancient skull found in Peru with evidence of surgical intervention. Credit: Danielle Kurin. Inset: 4,000-year-old “scalpels”

4,000-Year-Old Stone Scalpels Found in Peru Shed Light on Ancient Medical Practices

A team of archeologists has unearthed a set of slate-stone instruments that are similar to scalpels. The artifacts are 4,000 years old and are believed to have been used by ancient Peruvian healers...
Painting entitled ‘Abulcasis blistering a patient in the hospital at Cordova.’

Al-Zahrawi: The Legacy of the Father of Modern Surgery

The period from the 8th century until the 13th century AD is commonly referred to as the Islamic Golden Age. During this era, the Islamic world produced numerous scholars who contributed greatly to...
The female musicians in the center of the image are playing transverse bamboo flutes and guan

Earliest ancient Chinese musical instruments unearthed in tomb complex

Ancient musical instruments, some the earliest of their kind ever found, have been discovered by archaeologists in the tombs of Zaoyang city, China. China Daily reports the musical finds were...
Old Flute in Germany - Origins of Music

The Origin of Music

The origin of music itself is very difficult to determine because in all probability, it is likely to have begun with singing and clapping or beating the hands on different surfaces, for which there...