Archeologists Discover a 17,000 Years Old Musical Instrument Deep Inside a Cave, Stunned to Get Near-Perfect Notes Out of It
Researchers were stunned to uncover that a 17,000-year-old conch shell discovered in Southern France could still produce notes. According to experts, the shell unearthed from a hunter-gatherer cave is the oldest known wind instrument found on Earth to this date, BBC reported.
A research team collaborated with a professional musician to produce notes from the instrument, and to their surprise, the pursuit was successful. Findings regarding the artifact and the tunes it generated have been published in the journal Science Advances.
(Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by imageBROKER | Egon Boemsch)
The instrument was discovered in 1931 in Marsoulas cave and is considered to be a crucial find by experts, The Independent reported. "To our knowledge, the Marsoulas shell is unique in the prehistoric context, however, not only in France but at the scale of Palaeolithic Europe and perhaps the world," the study claimed.
No other man-made musical instrument carved from a shell has been found from the Upper Palaeolithic (around 46,000 to 12,000 years ago) period in Europe. Carbon dating of the cave helped experts determine the age of the conch shell. Initially, researchers thought that it was a ceremonial cup due to its features. In 2021 their perception changed when advanced imaging techniques were applied.
From the results, Carole Fritz and her colleagues at the French National Centre for Scientific Research concluded that the inhabitants of the cave constructed the shell in such a manner that it accommodated a mouthpiece. There was a break at the tip of the shell which led to a 3.5cm diameter opening, which experts think was used as the entry point for the mouthpiece. The team also noted perforations inside the shell and evidence of retouching around the shell opening. All these point towards the mouthpiece being kept in place through something with the artifact.
(Image Source: Science Advances)
Researchers have speculated in the study that an organic material like resin or wax could have been used to attach the shell to the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece could be an empty bird bone which after the linking started producing musical notes, according to experts. To confirm the theory, the team brought a horn player on board. The professional during their performance generated three "high quality" sounds close to the notes C, C sharp, and D.
The study believes that the findings could shed light on the culture of hunter-gatherers in Paleolithic times. Conch shells have held a special place in many societies. "Around the world, conch shells have served as a musical instrument, calling or signaling devices, and sacred or magic objects depending on the cultures," the study wrote. Therefore the instrument holding a reputable place for hunter-gatherers doesn't seem a surprise.
The fact that the conch shell was significant for the cave inhabitants is implied by the drawings on the cave wall. The dot-like markings in the instrument were painted on the walls of the Marsoulas cave in the Pyrenees. "This establishes a strong link between the music played with the conch and the images, the representations, on the walls," Gilles Tosello from the University of Toulouse stated. "To our knowledge, this is the first time we can put in evidence a relationship between music and cave art in European pre-history."