Communing with nature, the ancestors and the neighbors: ancient ceramic musical instruments from coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

    Authors

    G. D. Hepp; S. B. Barber;A. A. Joyce

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    World Archaeol.

    Keywords

    Oaxaca; Mesoamerica; Formative period; music; aerophones; sensorial; anthropology; CLASSIC MAYA MUSIC; ARCHAEOLOGY; SOUNDSCAPES; PERFORMANCE; TUTUTEPEC; GUATEMALA; AGUATECA; SOUND; WIND; Archaeology

    Abstract

    The Mesoamerican Formative period (1600 BCE-CE 250) saw the establishment of sedentism, dietary transformations and the development of ceramic technologies for subsistence, artistic representation and the region's earliest preserved musical instruments. These instruments include aerophones such as whistles, ocarinas and flutes. In this paper, we describe sixty-three ceramic aerophones from mostly Formative period contexts in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. We situate our analysis in the broader contexts of research on music and iconography in Mesoamerican archaeology, as well as of the anthropology of sensory perception. Through a consideration of archaeological context, artifact form and technical properties, we conclude that music was used in a wide range of social settings and carried multivalent meanings in ancient coastal Oaxaca. Specifically, we argue that instruments acted in both public and private settings, and that the anthropomorphic and zoomorphic imagery they bear indicates complex social practices such as communication with revered ancestors.

    Journal Title

    World Archaeology

    Volume

    46

    Issue/Number

    3

    Publication Date

    1-1-2014

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    380

    Last Page

    399

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000341409000008

    ISSN

    0043-8243

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