Ancient music refers to the musical cultures and practices that developed in theliterate civilizations of theancient world prior to theearly medieval period (before approximately 500 CE). It follows themusic of prehistoric societies and precedes the emergence ofmedieval music during thepost-classical era.
Major centers of ancient music developed inChina,Egypt,Greece,India,Iran/Persia, theMaya civilization,Mesopotamia, andRome. Though extremely diverse, the music of ancient civilizations is frequently characterized bymonophony,improvisation, and the dominance of text in musical settings.[1]
Inprehistoric societies, music was transmitted orally, lacking written record. As writing systems developed andsocieties became more stratified, particularly in Europe and Asia, phoneticmusical notation began to emerge as a way to preserve and standardize musical practices;[2] the more recognizable Western diastematic notation would not develop till c. 9th to 12th century CE with the creation ofneumes.[3]
The earliest known example of notated music is theHurrian Hymn No. 6, dating to the 14th century BCE.[4] The development of notation marked a shift from exclusively oral transmission to a system that enabled the preservation and reinterpretation ofmusical themes.[5][6][7]
Music has been an integral part ofEgyptian culture since antiquity. The goddessBat was credited with its invention, although she was latersyncretized with the goddessHathor.[8] According to myth,Osiris used Hathor's music to civilize humanity. Evidence of Egyptian musical instruments dates back to the Predynastic period,Predynastic period, but becomes more substantial in tomb paintings from theOld Kingdom (c. 2575–2134 BCE), in whichharps,end-blown flutes (held diagonally), andsingle anddouble reed pipes similar toclarinets are depicted.[9][10][11][12]
Percussion instruments andlutes had been added to musical ensembles by theMiddle Kingdom. Bronzecymbals from theRoman period (30 BCE–641 CE) have been discovered at a tomb site nearNaucratis.[13][14]
Scholars have attempted to reconstruct the sound of ancient Egyptian instruments by analyzing the hole placement onflutes andreed pipes, and by reconstructing the stringing of lyres, harps, and lutes. However, only theTutankhamun trumpets and some percussion instruments provide a partial idea of their actual sound.[15]
Most theories about how ancient Egyptian music sounded remain speculative.[9][16] Thesistrum, a ritual rattle used in religious ceremonies, was a prominent percussion instrument in ancient Egypt.[17]
In 1986,Anne Draffkorn Kilmer,[18] professor ofancient history andMediterranean archaeology at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, published herdecipherment of acuneiformtablet fromNippur (c. 2000 BCE), one of the oldestSumerian cities. She argued that the tablet contained fragmentary instructions for performing and composing music inharmonies of thirds adiatonic scale.[19]
The musical notation in this tablet is less developed than that of the latercuneiform Hurrian tablets fromUgarit (c. 1250 CE),also interpreted by Kilmer.[20] Although interpretations vary (at least five rival theories exist), the notation likely refers tolyre strings andtuning systems described in related texts.
These tablets represent the world's earliest known examples of recorded melodies, albeit fragmentary.[21]
In 1929, archaeologistLeonard Woolley discovered fragments of four different stringed instruments while excavating the ancient city-state ofUr in what wasAncient Mesopotamia and what is nowIraq.
The remains, dated to around 2750 BCE, are now housed in museums including theUniversity of Pennsylvania, theBritish Museum, and inBaghdad. Various reconstructions and restorations of the instruments have been attempted, but many concluded that none have been completely satisfactory.
Though commonly called "harps," these instruments may be more accurately classified aslyres.[22] The most famous,the bull-headed lyre, was held in Baghdad until it was destroyed during the 2003Iraq War by looters.[23]
Among theHurrian texts fromUgarit in Syria are some of the oldest known instances of written music, dating fromc. 1400 BCE and including one complete song.[24]
TheSamaveda consists of a collection (samhita) ofhymns, portions of hymns, and detached verses, all but 75 taken from theRigveda, to be sung, using specifically indicatedmelodies calledSamagana. In ancient India,memorization of the sacredVedas included up to eleven forms of recitation of the same text.[25]
TheNatya Shastra is anancient Indian treatise on theperforming arts, encompassingtheatre,dance andmusic. It was written at an uncertain date in classicalIndia (200 BCE–200 CE). TheNatya Shastra is based upon the much olderNatya Veda which contained 36,000 slokas (proverb/saying).[26][27]However, there are no surviving copies of theNatya Veda. There are scholars who believe that it may have been written by various authors at different times. The most authoritativecommentary on theNatya Shastra isAbhinavabharati byAbhinava Gupta.While much of the discussion of music in theNatya Shastra focuses on musical instruments, it also emphasizes several theoretical aspects that remained fundamental toIndian music:
Jatis are elaborated in greater detail in the textDattilam, composed around the same time as theNatya Shastra.[28][page needed][29][page needed]
Mostguqin books andtablature written before the twentieth century confirm that this is the origin of theguqin, although now it is viewed as mythology. InChinese literature, theguqin dates back almost 3,000 years, while examples of the instrument have been found in tombs that date back to about 2,000 years ago. Although the ancient literature states its beginnings, the origin of theguqin has still been a subject of debate over the past few decades.[citation needed]
“Music played a very important part in almost every aspect of life for the ancient Greeks.”[30] Our knowledge of this music comes from actual music fragments of musical scores, literary references, and remains of ancient musical instruments left behind. Three musical instruments that were commonly found are the kithara, a plucked string instrument; the lyre, also a string instrument; and the aulos, a double-reed instrument.[31] Music (or Mousike) was taught to most Greek men to master a musical instrument competently, sing and perform choral dances.[32]
The music of ancient Rome borrowed heavily from the music of the cultures that were conquered by the empire, including music ofGreece,Egypt, andPersia. Music pervaded many areas of Roman life. including the military, entertainment in the Roman theater, religious ceremonies and practices, and almost all public/civic occasions.[33][34]
The philosopher-theoristBoethius translated into Latin and anthologized a number of Greek treatises, including some on music. His workThe Principles of Music (better-known under the titleDe institutione musica) divided music into three types:Musica mundana (music of the universe),musica humana (music of human beings), andmusica instrumentalis (instrumental music).[35]
A treatise on ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, completely translated for the first time from the original Sanskrit with an introduction, various notes, and index.
