The Roots of Music
By Cultura Animi Foundation with the cooperation of EURO INNOVANET srl
The development of man from the earliest
times until our days has been accompanied by music. Music was born not so much
as a means of entertainment, but as a key to a world above everyday life, a
spiritual world. It is a
manifestation of the creative impulse instilled in man, a means of expressing,
arranging and lending meaning to existence. That is why we will find it as a constant
companion of all important moments for the individual and for the community birth,
attainment of manhood, marriage, death, hunting, military triumph or defeat,
celebrations and rituals on a variety of occasions.
We can look for the roots of music
way back in prehistory, when it is assumed that humans noticed the sounds and
rhythms of nature and made the first attempts to imitate them. These nature
models, organized in various repetitions and tonalities, were most probably
used at the formation of prehistoric music. Maybe the first musical instrument
was the human voice, combining a wide range of sounds, singing, humming,
coughing etc.
1. Anthropomorphic figure, Late Eneolithic,
Rousse settlement mound
In the Eneolithic (5th millennium BC) singing had a magical purpose, related to the cult of fertility,
prosperity and healing. In some
cases, it was complemented by a ritual dance, as it is pictured on some
anthropomorphic images from the area of the Gumelnitsa culture (fig.1).
The oldest musical instruments found
date from the Paleolithic (43 000-12 000 BC). These are whistles made of hollow
bones of big mammals or birds in which several blow holes are cut. Probably the
bored animal phalanges which are found today were also used as musical
instruments.
2
Prehistoric whistle made of cave
bear bone
from the cave Swabian Alb, Germany (Paleolithic)
Music certainly appears early in the
behavioural repertoire of Homo sapiens, the Geissenklosterle pipe at 36,000 BP is a complex artefact that
must post-date - and most likely by some considerable period – the emergence of a capacity for music,
which pushes the emergence of that capacity back towards the very emergence of Homo sapiens sapiens.
(3)Flint blades can be used
as idiophones - musical instruments or vibrating objects in which energy input and sound output
systems are one and the same - which behave like chime bars; when struck, their first mode of vibration
(lowest pitch) has nodal points (points of null displacement) at about 0.224
along their length, and they
can produce very clear and quite long-lasting pitched sounds
3 
Some of the first musical instruments
were the percussion ones, which produced sound by means hitting with hands,
slapping handsetc. A model of such an instrument made
of clay is known from Ebendorf, Germany. It is kept at the museum in Berlin and is dated as belonging to the Late Neolithic and the Walternienburg-Bernburg
culture (4).
4 
Other models
of similar objects are known from the so-called ''Cult scene from Ovcharovo'',
and they give the idea what some of the prehistoric drums looked like.
5. ''Cult scene from Ovcharovo''
This arrangement is probably a
replica of an actual sanctuary existing during the Eneolithic. It is assumed that this was
a sanctuary dedicated to the Sun, the Moon and the elements of nature. The
small female figurines represent its priestesses who prayed, while the largest
was probably the one who directed the cult actions. Each one of the three girls
served at one of the altars and each also had a chair, a small pot and a drum
with which the rituals were performed. The
presence of this instrument in such a scene is indicative of the sacred
function of prehistoric music. It is known that the rhythmic sound of the drum and
the noises made by other percussion instruments can result in a change of the state
of mind. Modern psychology has its
explanation of this phenomenon – the
monotonous sounds activate the immune system, which leads to an enhanced sense
of well-being and diminishes the feelings of fear and anxiety.
Some seashells were also probably
used as wind musical instruments in the Eneolithic. Their natural cavities
served as resonators from which the sound was produced. This is what we learn
from the find at Bekasmegyer-Kollar
foldje, Hunagry, dating from the
Late Eneolithic and found in a grave (6).
6
A
bone flute (aulos) of c. 5.300 BC from the Neolithic settlement of Dispilio at Lake Kastoria is probably the oldest archaeological find of musical interest in late prehistory (7).
7
During the Neo-Eneolithic Age musical
instruments, as well as music, acquired broader meaning and use. The appearance
of clay artefacts–rattles with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features,
hollow objects with holes and openings for hanging, indicate the perfecting of this type
of art in the time of late prehistory. There
we can also find the roots of today's instruments ocarina and castanets. The
depiction of rattles with anthropomorphic features, more specifically such
showing pregnant women, suggests musical performances dedicated to ancient
rites of fertility and prosperity.
In the Late Bronze Age ''rattles'' continued to be made
of clay, but acquired simpler forms. A case in point is the object from Lusse, Brandenburg, kept at the Museum for Pre- and Early History in Berlin. (12). The fact that is was also discovered in a grave indicates that the musical instrument belonged to the deceased who was most probably a musician/priest, or else it was used as funereal accompaniment during the ceremony and after that placed in the grave.
11 
Another type of musical
instrument is the bullroarer. In prehistoric times the bullroarer was a symbol
of fertility and evidence of them has been found in Paleololithic sites. The
sound of the bullroarer is said to be the voice of an ancestor, a spirit, or a
deity. This was very important because it played a role in certain rites of
passage in some areas of the world. It is still found in some areas of each
continent and the Pacific. The bullroarer was almost exclusively used in
rituals and there is no evidence that it has ever been used to take part in a
purely musical activity. The bullroarer initially belonged to women, but was
later stolen from them by men. Since then, the bullroarer had to be kept secret
from women, with failures threatened by punishment of death. Access to (stolen)
secret meant access to autonomous power, in this case, male power from which
women were excluded.
12. Bullroarer, bone, Kosharna tell (Bulgaria), Eneolithic
In the 2nd 1st millennium BC we find more convincing sources referring to music and its manifestations. The scarce data about the
musical customs of ancient Thracians (in archeological monuments, or in references
of Greek and Roman historians, philosophers, poets etc.) give interesting details about the
instruments, the way of making music, the musicians, the social and religious
function of music. They clearly
show a close relationship and two-way influence, above all between Thracian and
ancient Graeco-Roman musical culture, which also left lasting traces in the Balkan Peninsula. In antique literary
tradition, Ancient Thrace is the homeland of muses, singers, poets and
musicians. An example of this are the mythical Thracians Orpheus, Musaeus,
Tamiris etc, whose musical and poetic activities have been recognized as a
spiritual contribution for the whole ancient East Mediterranean cultural region.
13. Orpheus playing the lyre
The records of ancient Greek
mysteries, where music played a primary role, confirm this mutual influence. The name of Musaeus, for
example, is related to theEleusinian
Mysteries and the origin of the Orphic mysteries in Athens. The roots of Dionysian
revelries (from which ancient Greek tragedy was born later) and the very cult
of the god Dionysius, according to the latest authoritative hypotheses,
originated in ancient Thrace. Fire-dancing
and mummer games, which are part of different festivities in today's Romania,
Greece and Bulgaria, also have a Dionysian nature and are heirs to the ancient
Thracian religious practices.
