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Characteristics of Prehistoric Music:

An Introduction
By Dr Justin Wildridge - Sep 25, 2018
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Characteristics of Prehistoric Music

This article will attempt to stretch the musical timeline as far back as our current research
allows and examine the findings relating to music from centuries before the Greeks and the
Romans.

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I am relying on the research of a number of scientists and a good degree of speculation to
draw out some characteristics of the music from this time period. There are a not Email
inconsiderable number of archaeologists who have made significant discoveries in this field
and it is here where I will start.
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To pinpoint a precise time when Man could have made his first musical sound is impossible.
What we do know is that many of the instruments that have been unearthed have parallels
throughout musical history, with clear links to instruments we use today.

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This is all the more remarkable when you consider the time period we’re working with
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Walter Majoli with his group called Art of Primitive Sound, have produced some recordings
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The development of prehistoric music is in all probability linked directly to the development
of language. This is not to claim that one substituted for the other but that they may have
grown in tandem, both with their importance to social interaction within groups of early
man.

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Stephen Mithen in his book “The Singing Neanderthal”[1] makes an interesting connection 14 Websites to Learn MS Excel
between prehistoric music and the evolutionary move towards bipedalism, suggesting that Lessons Online (Free and Paid)
the very rhythm of the music would have been influenced by this evolutionary advance. May 6, 2020

Alongside this our whole anatomy would have gradually changed and the effect of an
upright Homo ergaster is likely to have changed our brain and our vocal tract enabling a The 5-year-old girl performs her
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greater variety of sounds and expressions.
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Other reasons for the development of prehistoric music could also have been attributed to
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sounds and rhythms, that other members of the group could not, would attract a greater Apr 28, 2017
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If this then became a biological advantage this, in turn, could have led to this trait or
characteristic passing down through further generations of humans. Religion and primitive
ceremonies to celebrate or appease the Gods were in all probability key to the way of life in
pre-historic times, just as they are now.

Music may have been an increasingly dominant feature of these rites or rituals including
the development of dance alongside the music. As the human brain evolved the music
almost certainly did too, increasing in complexity and emotional content.

Their ideas for musical composition possibly included a mimicry of the sounds they heard in
their natural environment. These natural sounds perhaps found their way into the
ceremonies and practices of early man gradually evolving into established pieces that may
have been repeated at specific times of the year. It may not be as far-fetched as it appears
as Messiaen is one of the numerous composers to have included sounds from nature in his
own original compositions.

At this extreme of musical history, we can perhaps gain a glimpse of the origins of the
music and arts that we enjoy today across every culture in the world. The basic elements of
musical constructions including, melody, rhythm, textures, timbres and even harmony can
be traced back thousands of years to the first bipedal humans.

The inclusion of music into their lives was as important to them as it is to us now and has
perhaps made a direct contribution to our mental and physical evolution too. Like the pulse
that gives each of us life, it would appear that music has underpinned our lives from the
very earliest emergence of Man like a basic and extremely human need.

[1] The Singing Neanderthals: Mithen, Steven: Orion Publishing (2005) ISBN: 13-9-780297
643173

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Online Review Introduction

Dr Justin Wildridge
Justin Wildridge is a media composer and multi-instrumentalist based in South-West of
England where he works from his own studio. He holds a Doctorate in musical
composition from the University of Nottingham and has over the last twenty years
composed extensively within the contemporary art music world.

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