How Music and Instruments Began: A Brief Overview of the Origin and Entire Development of Music, from Its Earliest Stages
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
By design analogy, narrative review and theoretical synthesis without empirical data.
OpenAlex W2689731742 · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2017.00008
What was done
The author synthesized anthropological, anatomical, archaeological, and ethnomusicological perspectives to construct a broad narrative of the origins and historical development of music, instruments, and performance. The review addresses hominid anatomical prerequisites (focusing on Neanderthals and Homo sapiens), the developmental sequence of rhythm, melody, and speech, archaeological instrument artifacts from the Mousterian era onward, cross-cultural concepts of tonality, and iconographic evidence through the European Middle Ages.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data. Conceptually, the review posits that hominid capacity for pitch variation indicates simple music predated speech, and motor impulse patterns suggest rhythm likely preceded melody. It outlines four primary evolutionary purposes for music (dance, ritual, entertainment, and social cohesion) and notes a worldwide lack of consistency in consonant tonality across cultures.
Why it matters
It provides an overarching ethnomusicological framework synthesizing anatomical and archaeological evidence on musical evolution to inform inquiries by cognitive scientists.
Limits
The work is a non-systematic narrative overview offering theoretical deductions rather than new empirical data or quantitative measurements. As highlighted in the abstract, modern performances on replicas of prehistoric instruments may not reflect original playing styles or sounds.
Cited by
- supports Human musical culture dates back 40,000 years.