Archaeology Unearths Secrets of How Music, Sounds Were Made

Music has been part and parcel of humanity for a long time. Not every sound is musical, but sound has meaning and sometimes the meaning of sound is specific to its context. Available evidence dates back from around 10,000 years ago, from the later Stone Age up to the Iron Age. Rock Art offers depictions of musical instruments as well as scenes of dancing that can be linked with musical performance, writes Joshua Kumbani for the Conversation.

Kalimba music instrument. Mbira.

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