Our prehistoric ancestors were very busy people, but they must have known how to chill in between chores, to relax and recharge. It’s well known to science that our cave dwelling forebears gorged on...
A pre-development dig by Cotswold Archeology at Herne Bay in Kent, England, has uncovered evidence of settlement from the Bronze Age to the Roman period and again in the medieval period. One of the...
Believe it or not, but it appears that the ruthless 15th century King Louis XI of France, nicknamed the Spider King or l'universelle araignée , took pleasure in the torture of animals. One particular...
When odd, skull-shaped grave items were found by archaeologists decades ago at an Aztec temple in Mexico, they were assumed to be mere toys or ornaments, and were catalogued and stored in warehouses...
Human beings need complex communication, no matter if it's through speech or music . The invention of drums has become an essential factor in all musical forms of artistic expression. It is through...
The hurdy gurdy is a musical instrument, or more precisely, a string instrument, that traces its origin to the Middle Ages of Europe. The hurdy gurdy was initially used to play sacred music, before...
A Ph.D. student has made an astonishing discovery - the earliest known Native American tattoo artifact. It is estimated that it is 2000-years-old and came from the very important Basket-maker II...
A musician may have strummed its strings all the way back in the 3rd millennium BC. This means that the Bull’s Lyre, aka the Golden Lyre of Ur, is one of the oldest string instruments in the world...
The nomadic musician looked fondly upon the latest of the completed instruments – a mouth harp carefully crafted by splintering the rib of a cow, or was it a horse? No matter, the sound it made when...
Tim Shephard / The Conversation Did you once put a poster of your favorite music artist on your bedroom wall? Are there a few faded gig T-shirts in your bottom drawer? Have you ever bought an LP or...
The word ‘lithophone’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘lithos’ and ‘phone’. The first can be translated as ‘stone’, whilst the second means ‘sound’. Therefore, a lithophone may be said to be a ‘...
For proof that the ney (also spelled nay) is one of the oldest musical instruments still in use, you need look no further than the great Sumerian city of Ur. Archeologists have found the delicate...
The carnyx is an ancient musical instrument that best-known to have been used by the Celts during the Iron Age. Between 300 BC and 200 AD, the carnyx was used in many parts of Europe. In the ancient...
An archaeologist studying musical horns from iron-age Ireland has found musical traditions, thought to be long dead, are alive and well in south India. The realization that modern Indian horns are...
One of the ancient technologies that is often overlooked is the creation of musical instruments. The purpose, development and in some cases the techniques used to develop music remains a mystery...
A traditional stringed gourd instrument of the Tuareg people in Africa, played only by women because of the threat of a curse upon men who play it, is making a comeback. Only two women were known to...