Fig 1 - uploaded by Neil Rusch
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
This paper describes possible sound-producing artefacts from two Later Stone Age deposits in the southern Cape, South Africa. Implements previously described as a 'wirra wirra' or 'pendant' from Klasies River main site (KRM), a 'woer woer' or 'bullroarer' and four 'pendants' from Matjes River (MR) are analysed and their sound producing qualities as...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... bone artefacts that morphologically resemble bullroarers and spinning disks have been found in the Later Stone Age layers from Klasies River main site (KRM) and Matjes River (MR) in the southern Cape ( Fig. 1) (Singer and Wymer, 1982;Louw, 1960). Singer and Wymer (1982: 127) say of the KRM implement "It was unfortunately broken in the course of excavation, but it was broken in such a way that we were able to reconstruct. It is made on a flat bone, probably part of a rib, tapering to a rounded point at both ends and having two small ...
Context 2
... in the literature (see Bradfield, 2015 for a summary). The low-powered microscope allows for tools to be freely manipulated under magnification and is useful for establishing whether and where use-wear is present on a tool's surface. The detailed characterisation of that wear is then achieved under high-power, typically at 100x magnification. Fig. 12 shows some of the use-wear that developed on the spinning disk replicas after being spun with different threads. Of the five replicas, all of which were spun by hand, the most pronounced use-wear was produced by hemp thread and moistened rawhide (Figs. 12B and D). Use-wear consisted of mild surface deformations in the form of rounding ...
Context 3
... of that wear is then achieved under high-power, typically at 100x magnification. Fig. 12 shows some of the use-wear that developed on the spinning disk replicas after being spun with different threads. Of the five replicas, all of which were spun by hand, the most pronounced use-wear was produced by hemp thread and moistened rawhide (Figs. 12B and D). Use-wear consisted of mild surface deformations in the form of rounding and indeterminate polish, roughly commensurate with Mărgărit's (2016) second stage of bead wear. In no cases was it possible for us to identify the string material based on the characteristics of the polish, as it was not sufficiently well developed. The placement ...
Context 4
... of mild surface deformations in the form of rounding and indeterminate polish, roughly commensurate with Mărgărit's (2016) second stage of bead wear. In no cases was it possible for us to identify the string material based on the characteristics of the polish, as it was not sufficiently well developed. The placement of use-wear is shown in Fig. 13. Wear appears to be concentrated primarily on the left lateral edges. The archaeological artefact from Matjes River (MR 5135) displayed minimal rounding on the left outer lateral (Figs. ...
Context 5
... us to identify the string material based on the characteristics of the polish, as it was not sufficiently well developed. The placement of use-wear is shown in Fig. 13. Wear appears to be concentrated primarily on the left lateral edges. The archaeological artefact from Matjes River (MR 5135) displayed minimal rounding on the left outer lateral (Figs. ...
Context 6
... invasiveness of the wear differed between specimens. Fig. 14 shows the use-wear that (Fig. 16E) and 2) ochre powder slightly behind the outer rim of the perforation (Fig. ...
Context 7
... invasiveness of the wear differed between specimens. Fig. 14 shows the use-wear that (Fig. 16E) and 2) ochre powder slightly behind the outer rim of the perforation (Fig. ...
Context 8
... invasiveness of the wear differed between specimens. Fig. 14 shows the use-wear that (Fig. 16E) and 2) ochre powder slightly behind the outer rim of the perforation (Fig. ...
Context 9
... 39 displayed poorly developed indeterminate use-wear behind the outer rim in the upper sector of the perforation (Fig. 16H); no other use-wear was visible on this artefact. Compared to the machine-spun replica of this artefact, there was less use-wear coverage and a complete absence of use-wear along the lateral edges. ...
Context 10
... centrifugal force acting on the bone during spinning, it is unlikely to experience friction with the string in the same manner as a hanging pendant except during the brief periods of winding up and winding down when the wobble effect would likely result in the string contacting the lateral sectors of the perforation more than the upper sector. Fig. 17 presents a schematic of typical use-wear locations of spinning discs and pendants worn as body ornaments. In a sample of artefacts of unknown function, we can therefore expect use-wear concentrations in certain areas to indicate specific ...
Context 11
... thus aided transition into the spirit realm where relations with spirits-of-the-dead could be negotiated. With respect to the 'disorienting' effect of low frequencies, mentioned above, we should note that of the four pendants examined it was the one with the lowest frequencies which had use-wear consistent with its use as an aerophone bullroarer (Fig. ...
Similar publications
To mitigate the effects of drought in water-stressed agro-ecological zones (AEZs), it is crucial to implement efficient monitoring of drought characteristics and establish proactive water-use strategies. The Western Cape (WC) province is being confronted with an escalating threat of diminished water availability due to unsustainable human activitie...
INVESTING IN ECOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE – SNAPSHOTS FROM AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE
Citations
... The images depicted in rock art also afford us an indirect insight into the extent to which sound permeated the daily and ritual life of San people and their relationship with the surrounding environment. In addition to numerous representations of the aforementioned healing dance (Lewis-Williams and Pearce, 2012), figures of musical instruments such as musical bows (Vogels and Lenssen-Erz, 2017;Rusch, 2017), bullroarers (Rusch and Wurz, 2020), drums (Kumbani, 2023) and aerophones (Rust et al., 2022;Kumbani et al., 2019;Kumbani and Díaz-Andreu, 2024) can be found in different sites located in Namibia and South Africa (including the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains). Also, wavy lines associated with images of elephants have been interpreted by some authors as the representation of the sounds produced by these animals to communicate with each other (Parkington and Paterson, 2017;Rusch, 2017). ...
Over the past two decades, scholars have proposed the existence of a strong relationship between sound, acoustics, and the production of San rock art in certain places. However, this intriguing hypothesis had never been tested through the systematic application of a rigorous method to a substantial sample of sites. In this paper, we present an unprecedented archaeoacoustic study conducted at 27 shelters with San paintings located in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains (South Africa). The results obtained through the use of the impulse response (IR) method indicate that such a relationship should not be considered a pattern, but a circumstantial occurrence identified only in specific parts of the South African territory. Drawing on these data, we suggest that in our study area, the choice of sites to be painted may have been predominantly influenced by ontological beliefs concerning how the San perceived the shelters and the surrounding landscape.
... The smoothed edges illustrated in the drawing may be consistent with use as a cutting tool, but this does not account for the two holes near one end. A careful study of similar items from archaeological contexts suggests they are likely to be aerophone musical instruments, such as bullroarers [110,111]. Published descriptions of these instruments report dimensions ranging from 58-88.2 mm in length, 13-26.9 mm in width and 2-5 mm in thickness, with longer instruments having greater thickness [110]. ...
... Published descriptions of these instruments report dimensions ranging from 58-88.2 mm in length, 13-26.9 mm in width and 2-5 mm in thickness, with longer instruments having greater thickness [110]. A thin-bladed bone weapon estimated to be more than 100mm in length with a thickness of 2mm would have been too brittle to produce the injuries observed, especially in UCT 151a. ...
This study reports on the bioarchaeology and evidence of interpersonal violence in a group of archaeological skeletons found near Ladismith, Western Cape, South Africa. The co-mingled skeletal remains derive from at least ten individuals of varying ages and both sexes. Overlapping radiocarbon dates on three individuals place them in the first half of the 15th century CE, pre-dating first European contact at the end of that century. Three juvenile crania have perimortem perforations, the locations of which indicate violent deaths. The sizes and shapes of the lesions suggest impact by a blade at least 110mm long and 50mm wide but with edges only 2mm thick. Based on these dimensions, we hypothesise that this was a metal-tipped spear. The nearest metal-working communities at this time lived approximately 500 km away, implying long-distance trade or exchange. δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values indicate that this was a heterogenous group of individuals who had spent their early lives in different locations and consumed varied diets, who had come together and were living in or travelling through the Ladismith area at the time of their deaths. This finding extends the timeframe and location for the practice of communal burial in the Holocene of southern Africa and provides additional support for the hypothesis that communal burials in this region tend to be associated with violence.
... Immersion in the procedures and processes of making and what these engagements reveal are not the archaeoacoustic results per se and, for that reason, are generally not reported. The angle this article takes, therefore, aims to extend the previous archaeoacoustic research undertaken (Rusch 2017 <AQ: a or b?>;2021;Kumbani et al. 2019;Rusch and Wurz 2020;forthcoming;Rust et al. 2022). The commitment will be to link an analysis of actualistic activities (techniques and procedures) with Material Engagement Theory (MET), which "lies in the conviction that minds and things 2 are continuous and inter-definable processes rather than isolated and independent entities" (Malafouris 2019, 13). ...
... The next example MR40 (Fig. 4.5) served dual purposes, i.e. it functioned as a bullroarer musical instrument and as a pendant (Kumbani et al. 2019). This makes the item particularly interesting from the embodied MET perspective. ...
... Information about the holes in MR5135 was edited out of the published article (Kumbani et al. 2019). What was observed, however, raises questions about the technique and the tools used by the early maker. ...
Abstract: There is a view of archaeology promoted by the Oxford historian and philosopher Robin G. Collingwood (1889-1943), who argued that knowing the past means re-enacting it. This idea is alive today in experimental archaeology. In this chapter, I revisit the concepts of "re-enactment" and "actualisation", drawing on my experiences creating musical instruments for archaeoacoustic purposes. Further, I investigate Material Engagement Theory (MET) and the hypothesis that material engagement and musical instrument making are intertwined and should be traceable in the archaeological record. Five case studies inform this enquiry. The result suggests that 4E cognition — embodied, embedded, enactive and extended — as it is theorised by MET can be applied to archaeoacoustic instrument fabrication. As a method of enquiry, MET structures the actualistic approach I take to making archaeoacoustic instruments, and the results deliver insight into the cognitive aspects of mind-material engagement.
Keywords: material engagement, 4E cognition, working memory, archaeoacoustics,
actualistic
... Position of microwear patterns formed by thread over the front and rear side of replicas (followKumbani et al., 2019). ...
This paper presents a techno-functional analysis of two perforated bone artifacts recovered from Indor Khera and Rohana Khurd, North India, dated to c. 6th-2nd century BCE and 4th century BCE, respectively. These artifacts are made from bone walls of the unknown limb of medium/large-size mammals. Based on their morphology and parallels from archaeological sites of India, they have been identified as pendants and daggers. However, a close microscopic analysis of these artifacts tells a different story. The use-wears generated by threads around perforations contraindicate suspending (string-up) assumption. An experimental program has tested this by employing replicas of these artifacts as suspenders and fasteners. The result of this experiment and their comparison with archaeological ones suggest that these artifacts were probably used as fasteners rather than suspenders, thus challenging the conventional hypothesis that they were used as pendants. Apart from the functional aspects of these artifacts, the same experimental program was also used to understand the manufacturing process, i.e., the chaine operatoire.
... For example, the approach worked well in another investigation which sought to identify bullroarers from the archaeological record. The use of bullroarers ethnographically informed the inference that similar objects from the archaeological record could have been spun as bullroarers to produce sound and this was confirmed through experimental work (see Kumbani et al. 2019). ...
... Nevertheless, there are sound-related artefacts that have been identified from Matjes River, Nelson Bay Cave and Bonteberg shelter (Kumbani 2020). These instruments include a bullroarer from Matjes River and bone tubes that could have been used as flutes from Matjes River, Nelson Bay Cave and Bonteberg shelter (Kumbani et al. 2019;Kumbani 2020). The presence of sound-related artefacts from the LSA sites indicates that music was part and parcel of the socio-cultural spheres of people in the past. ...
... The layer from which the bone and the shale objects analysed in this research have been recovered has not been established because of the poor cataloguing system that was used in the original 1933 excavations by Dreyer. Bone implements have been recovered from layers, B, C and D (Louw 1960) but the site has five layers from A to E. Layer C yielded sound-related artefacts in the form of a bullroarer (Kumbani et al. 2019) and bone tubes that could have been used as flutes (Kumbani 2020). Ludwig (2005) refers to unperforated shale palettes from Layer C at Matjes River and it is possible that the four pieces that were analysed came from layer C as well. ...
... The plain is currently shared between Angola, Namibia and South Africa, and is characterized, north to south, by the Zambezian woodland down to Lobito (Angola), the Karroo-Namib arid to semi-arid environment from Lobito all along the Namibian coast, and then the fynbos environment which begins in the Cape Province of South Africa [1]. Coastal archaeology is well-developed across this area, but especially in South Africa where there is a rich corpus of coastal sites that document past lifeways and early symbolic behaviors of Pleistocene coastal hunter-gatherers [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], and also in Namibia-especially during the Holocene [18]. However, there are gaps in our knowledge pertaining to specific areas and time periods across this plain, and it is unclear whether the adaptive strategies implemented by early humans represent a collective response that facilitated strategic local landscape and resource use. ...
The relationship between Earlier Stone Age (ESA) hominins and the southern African coastal environment has been poorly investigated, despite the high concentration of open-air sites in marine and fluvial terraces of the coastal plain from c. 1Ma onward during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. Southern Africa provides some of the earliest evidence of coastal subsistence strategies since the end of the Middle Pleistocene, during the Middle Stone Age (MSA). These coastal MSA sites showcase the role of coastal environments in the emergence and development of modern human behaviors. Given the high prevalence of coastal ESA sites throughout the region, we seek to question the relationship between hominins and coastal landscapes much earlier in time. In this regard, the +100 m raised beaches of the Benguela Province, Angola, are key areas as they are well-preserved and contain a dense record of prehistoric occupation from the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, including sites like Dungo, Mormolo, Sombreiro, Macaca and Punta das Vacas. Accordingly, this paper provides a critical review of the coastal ESA record of southern Africa and a detailed presentation of the Dungo IV site, through a qualitative technological analysis coupled with a quantitative inter-site comparison with contemporary southern African coastal plain sites. Through our detailed technological analyses, we highlight the influence of coastal lithological resources on the technical behaviors of hominin groups, and we propose the existence of a “regional adaptive strategy” in a coastal landscape more than 600 000 years ago. Finally, we argue for the integration of coastal landscapes into hominins’ territories, suggesting that adaptation to coastal environments is actually a slower process which begins with “territorialization” well before the emergence and development of Homo sapiens.
... Gillreath-Brown recreated turtle shell rattles found in the United States to prove that these shells were used as musical instruments [114]. Kumbani and Rusch attempted to prove if the bullroarers found in Africa were used as musical instruments, specifically as an aerophone [115,116]. In Latin America, investigators have opted for the characterization of musical instruments into acoustically conditioned cameras. ...
... There is significant evidence of the use of different components (e.g., turtle shells, bullroarers, rocks, bones, etc.) and elements of nature that allowed the inhabitants of several cultures to make musical instruments [22,[114][115][116]118,119]. This confirmed that sound has been essential in human life. ...
Acoustics has been integrated with archaeology to better understand the social and cultural context of past cultures. Specifically, public events such as rituals or ceremonies, where an appreciation of sound propagation was required to hold an event. Various acoustic techniques have
been used to study archaeological sites, providing information about the building characteristics and organizational structures of ancient civilizations. This review aims to present recent advances in Archaeoacoustics worldwide over the last seven years (2016–2022). For this purpose, one hundred and five articles were identified and categorized into two topics: (1) Archaeoacoustics in places, and (2) Archaeoacoustics of musical instruments and pieces. In the first topic, three subtopics were identified: (1) measurement and characterization of places, (2) rock art, and (3) simulation, auralization, and virtualization. Regarding the first subtopic, it was identified that the standards for reverberation times in enclosures are generally applied in their development. In the second subtopic, it was determined that the places selected to make paintings were areas with long reverberation time. The last subtopic, simulation, auralization, and virtualization, is the area of most remarkable growth and innovation. Finally, this review opens the debate to seek standardization of a measurement method that allows comparing results from different investigations.
... She recognized that purposeful sound-making activities could help generate group cohesion and synchronization and would have formed a fundamental facet of human cognitive and social development. In a recent experimental study that re-examined the Klasies River and Matjes River perforated bones, the researchers found that both artifacts could produce sound when spun in the manner of a woer woer (Kumbani et al. 2019). Spinning resulted in polish and surface deformation use-wear concentrating along the lateral edge of the perforations, contrary to what is seen on bone pendants, where use-wear concentrates on the upper margin of the perforation and the inner face of the bone (cf. ...
... Included in the study were several perforated pieces of bone previously thought to have been worn as pendants (Fig. 3). Use-wear analysis of these artifacts demonstrated that at least one was used as a spinning disc to produce sound (Kumbani et al. 2019), thus highlighting the contribution of use-wear research and stressing the need to re-assess bone tools that have been previously glossed over. ...
... The acoustic quality of these instruments match those of modern spinning discs or bullroarers (Rusch 2017), and when played together in a cave or rockshelter, would have produced an impressive sound, similar to the roaring of waves or the buzzing of a swarm of bees (Kirby 2013;Kumbani et al. 2019;Rusch 2017). Spinning discs were used by the |Xam for manipulating bees (Bleek and Lloyd 1911, p. 354-355;Frisbie 1971), while among the Ju|'hoansi of Namibia, the woer woer is played during initiation ceremonies and is associated with mythical creatures (England 1995). ...
I review five “vanished technologies” from southern Africa that have been brought to light through use-wear studies of bone tools. Most of the examples discussed here represent the first recognition of these technologies in the region and provide unique insights into the technological and behavioral repertoires of past humans and hominins. Hominin foraging and subsistence practices are inferred from the use-wear patterns on modified bones from four sites in the Cradle of Humankind. Early evidence for bow-and-arrow technology comes from Sibudu Cave and Klasies River Main site, with the evidence from the latter site extending the known distribution of this technology farther south. Use-wear has shown that modified bones, thought to have been pendants, were used in a manner more consistent with the production of sound and likely represent early musical instruments. In a similar vein, use-wear has shown that several bone points, conventionally interpreted as arrowheads, were used for domestic activities, such as making reed mats or baskets. Among some of the earliest state-level societies in southern Africa, the presence of bone hoes attests to the practice of small-scale garden agriculture, placing greater emphasis on individual agency within these complex societies. Use-wear studies continue to highlight the absurdity of attributing function based on shape.
... Putative musical instruments made from bone are found in Stone Age contexts throughout the world (Van Beek 1989;Morley 2005;Ibáñez et al. 2015;Dietrich & Notroff 2016). Most recently, perforated bone aerophones were identified from Later Stone Age deposits at Klasies River Main site (KRM) and Matjes River rock shelter on the Southern Cape coast, South Africa (Kumbani et al. 2019). These aerophones are similar to ones found in Natufian contexts in Israel, and were also initially mistaken for pendants (cf. ...
... Despite this, no certainty has been expressed about the exact function of the notched bones, with the use-wear results consistent with a range of possible functions. The recent discovery of musical instruments at KRM and the nearby site of Matjes River (Kumbani et al. 2019), which had for many years gone unrecognised, prompted our interest in the KRM notched bones. Specifically, we were interested in testing the hypothesis that the notched bones may have functioned as sound-producing rasps. ...
The recent publication of previously unrecognised musical instruments from two South African Later Stone Age deposits has prompted us to relook at some of the bone tools from Klasies River Main site (KRM). Notched bones are enigmatic artefacts found throughout the world and attributed diverse functions, including sound-producing instruments. We re-analyse the three pieces of notched bone from Klasies River Main site for use-traces that may indicate their use as musical rasps. Although we find no evidence to support their use as rasps, the use-wear and ancient starch residues suggest a complicated use history in which several activities may be implicated. While Francesco d'Errico's original interpretation of their use as skin abraders still stands as plausible, we conclude that the presence of quantities of ancient starch grains, coupled with the absence of ancient animal residues, implicates their use in some kind of plant processing activity, either exclusively or in addition to other uses.
... Bullroarers are free aerophones that produce a strong whirring pulsating sound when the oblong slat of wood, bone or stone are whirled through the air above the head or in front of the body on a length of cord or string (Fletcher et al., 2002;Roger & Aubert, 2006). This type of aerophone's long history reaches back into the Upper Palaeolithic and Epi Palaeolithic of Europe and Scandinavia (Morley, 2013;Trehub et al., 2015;Kumbani et al., 2019). In South Africa, only one plausible archaeological free aerophone bullroarer has to date been recovered (Louw, 1960;Kumbani et al., 2019). ...
... This type of aerophone's long history reaches back into the Upper Palaeolithic and Epi Palaeolithic of Europe and Scandinavia (Morley, 2013;Trehub et al., 2015;Kumbani et al., 2019). In South Africa, only one plausible archaeological free aerophone bullroarer has to date been recovered (Louw, 1960;Kumbani et al., 2019). This Later Stone age example was made of bone and was excavated at Matjes River (MR) in the southern Cape ( Fig. 1), from Layer C with dates ranging between circa (ca.) 9500 and 5 400 years before present (BP) (Protsch & Oberholzer, 1975: 40, see also Sealy et al, 2006: 99). ...
... The acoustical qualities and frequency range of previous aerophone replications (Rusch, 2017;Kumbani et al., 2019) bear strongly on the instruments replicated and recorded for this experiment. We compare the dimensions and sounds of these replicas to the replicas of the Doring River painting aerophones. ...
The archaeological record of the Upper and Epi Paleolithic has produced several objects with sound-producing potential of the aerophone type, interpreted as bullroarers. Recently a similar implement was identified in the Later Stone Age of the southern Cape, in the Matjes River Wilton layers. In this paper we present a depiction from the Cederberg showing a group of eight human figures, each playing what morphologically resembles bullroarer aerophones. Using digital image recovery techniques we could ascertain sufficient detail to replicate these instruments and record their sound. Using the same digital methods we conclude that the group scene is a palimpsest of two painting events, thematically and spatially connected although separated in time. The sound-producing qualities of the replicated instruments are assessed through actualistic and experimental research. Results are evaluated with reference to our earlier analysis of ethnographic and archaeological aerophone models recovered in the region.
In previous work we linked ASC (altered states of consciousness) and ESA (enhanced states of association) to the sounds created by aerophones. In this study we consider aspects of topography and landscape, contextualized within a time-frame provided by the archaeology of the Doring River valley and environs. We suggest that the painting and the sound-making depicted is most likely related to ‘working with rain’, an intervention aimed at influencing !Khwa and the hydrology in the arid Karoo region.
