Social Impacts of the Whistle
As the earliest instrument known to humankind, the whistle and its music has impacted humans since the earliest communities formed. Not only did ancient humans benefit from learning the craft of whistle-making, but they also benefited from the whistles’ music’s power of connectivity. In many cultures, music is a very important idea that connects people and brings them together to form social bonds, and this comes from far in the past when music was first used to establish traditions that helped people grow more social and make connections that would help them work together as a community.
The 40,000-year-old [whistle] also adds to evidence that music may have given the first European modern humans a strategic advantage over Neanderthals, researchers say...The ancient flutes are evidence for an early musical tradition that likely helped modern humans communicate and form tighter social bonds (Owen). |
One of the oldest whistles, a 40,000 year old bone flute, is estimated to have been created during the time that the earliest communities were forming. Because resources were being competed for (against the other human-like species, Neanderthals) in this time period, early humans needed an advantage to survive, which might have been helped by the whistle and its music. Music established a crude culture during the Stone Age which strengthened humanity’s social networks and allowed them to organize themselves more easily. Because of this community bond formed in part by musical tradition, early humans were able to work together to survive during this trying time in which resources were scarce. This shows that the whistle was an important catalyst in strengthening humanity’s social connections and culture.
'Aside from finding what we see as the earliest complete, playable musical instrument, what's surprising is the appearance of sharp social divisions in this very early agricultural village’...Some graves at the ancient settlement, Jiahu, contain opulent offerings, while others are, literally, bare-bones affairs (Bower).
A whistle 9,000 years old is believed to have been an artifact from one of the first agricultural settlements. The appearance of the whistle itself was not surprising, but what was unexpected was its placement. The settlement was expected to be advanced enough (because it was agricultural) to contain a grave site, but along with other items of value, the whistle was only buried with certain people. This shows evidence that a strong social pyramid existed at that time, which may have been developed because of the whistle’s perceived value in that village. Since the instrument was most likely used for tradition, the people considered most important were in possession of more of these significant items, as opposed to the lower-class folk shown as the empty graves. So, because of the whistle’s impact on tradition and ceremony, it marked a large social contrast in early communities.
'People think of these objects as signaling devices or playthings...That's wrong. They were clearly musical instruments, used for ritual and pleasure.'...'They were probably vital for conjuring up the supernatural, for protection, for religion and culture,' he speculated...'The idea is that these low-frequency sounds were important in religious rituals for changing states of consciousness' (Broad).
Many false ideas exist about ancient whistles, especially since many are stolen from the place they are buried in, with no context to give people clues as to their purpose. However, a turning point in understanding these artifacts was when the many whistles described were discovered in a royal Mayan tomb. Because of their significant burial site, archaeologists already could tell that their historical impact was very important to the civilization. They are dated to much more recent times than other flutes (specifically those mentioned previously), so both their civilization and their craftsmanship skills were significantly advanced. Because of the great care and effort that was put into perfecting the whistles, this suggests that they were more significant to the great ancient Inca and Maya civilizations than previously imagined. The whistles had a large impact on their culture, being used for a multitude of religious rituals and ceremonies. Some whistles even produced a lower frequency when played together, suggesting large-scale rituals. Because of the amount and skill of these whistles, anthropologists believe that the whistle had great impacts on the religion and rituals of ancient cultures.