MSGID: 1:317/3 6483fc6e   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    The first prehistoric wind instruments discovered in the Levant    
      
     Date:   
         June 9, 2023   
     Source:   
         CNRS   
     Summary:   
         Although the prehistoric site of Eynan-Mallaha in northern   
         Israel has been thoroughly examined since 1955, it still holds   
         some surprises for scientists. Seven prehistoric wind instruments   
         known as flutes were recently identified. The discovery of these   
         12,000 -year-old aerophones is extremely rare -- in fact, they   
         are thought to be the first to be discovered in the Near East.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Although the prehistoric site of Eynan-Mallaha in northern Israel has   
   been thoroughly examined since 1955, it still holds some surprises   
   for scientists.   
      
   Seven prehistoric wind instruments known as flutes, recently identified   
   by a Franco-Israeli team1, are the subject of an article published on   
   9 June in Nature Scientific Reports.   
      
   The discovery of these 12,000 -year-old aerophones is extremely rare   
   -- in fact, they are the first to be discovered in the Near East. The   
   "flutes," made from the bones of a small waterfowl, produce a sound   
   similar to certain birds of prey (Eurasian sparrowhawk and common kestrel)   
   when air is blown into them.   
      
   The choice of bones used to make these instruments was no accident --   
   larger birds, with bigger bones that produce deeper sounds, have also   
   been found at the site. The Natufians, the Near Eastern civilisation that   
   occupied this village between 13,000 and 9,700 BC, deliberately selected   
   smaller bones in order to obtain the high-pitched sound needed to imitate   
   these particular raptors. The instruments may have been used for hunting,   
   music or to communicate with the birds themselves. Indeed, it is clear   
   that the Natufians attributed birds with a special symbolic value,   
   as attested by the many ornaments made of talons found at Eynan-Mallaha.   
      
   The village, located on the shores of Lake Hula, was home to this   
   civilisation throughout its 3,000 years of existence. It is therefore of   
   vital importance in revealing the practices and habits of a culture at the   
   crossroads between mobile and sedentary lifestyles, and the transition   
   from a predatory economy to agriculture. This work2 was supported by   
   the Fyssen Fondation and the ministe`re des Affaires e'trange`res.   
      
   Notes   
      1. The team is co-directed by Laurent Davin (post-doctoral researcher   
      at the   
         Fyssen Fondation) and Jose'-Miguel Tejero (University of   
         Vienna, University of Barcelona) and includes scientists   
         from the Centre de recherche franc,ais a` Je'rusalem   
         (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Universite'/ ministe`re de la Culture), the   
         laboratoire Technologie et ethnologie des mondes pre'historiques   
         (CNRS/Universite' Panthe'on-Sorbonne/Universite' Paris Nanterre),   
         The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Institute of Archaeology),   
         Israel Antiquities Authority, Virginia Commonwealth University   
         (Department of Forensic Science), E'cole Nationale Ve'te'rinaire   
         (Laboratoire d'Anatomie compare'e, Nantes), the laboratoire   
         Arche'ologies et sciences de l'Antiquite' (CNRS/ministe`re de la   
         Culture/ Universite' Panthe'on-Sorbonne/Universite' Paris Nanterre)   
         and the l'Institut d'ethnologie me'diterrane'enne, europe'enne et   
         comparative (CNRS/Universite' Aix-Marseille).   
      
      2. Excavation of the Eynan-Mallaha site is still ongoing, under the   
         direction of CNRS researcher Fanny Bocquentin and Israel Antiquities   
         Authority researcher Lior Weisbrod.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Matter_&_Energy   
                   # Wind_Energy # Acoustics # Forensic_Research #   
                   Robotics_Research   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Construction o Technology o Firestorm o Fullerene o Solar_wind   
             o Edwin_Hubble o Wind_turbine o Wind_power   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by CNRS. Note: Content may be edited   
   for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Laurent Davin, Jose'-Miguel Tejero, Tal Simmons, Dana Shaham,   
      Aure'lia   
         Borvon, Olivier Tourny, Anne Bridault, Rivka Rabinovich, Marion   
         Sindel, Hamudi Khalaily, Franc,ois Valla. Bone aerophones from   
         Eynan-Mallaha (Israel) indicate imitation of raptor calls by the   
         last hunter-gatherers in the Levant. Scientific Reports, 2023; 13   
         (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023- 35700-9   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230609125643.htm   
      
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