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. 2023 Jun 9;13(1):8709.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35700-9.

Bone aerophones from Eynan-Mallaha (Israel) indicate imitation of raptor calls by the last hunter-gatherers in the Levant

Laurent Davin #  1   2   3 , José-Miguel Tejero #  4   5   6 , Tal Simmons  7 , Dana Shaham  8 , Aurélia Borvon  9   10   11 , Olivier Tourny  9   12 , Anne Bridault  9   10 , Rivka Rabinovich  8   13 , Marion Sindel  9   14 , Hamudi Khalaily  9   14 , François Valla  9   15
Affiliations

Bone aerophones from Eynan-Mallaha (Israel) indicate imitation of raptor calls by the last hunter-gatherers in the Levant

Laurent Davin et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Direct evidence for Palaeolithic sound-making instruments is relatively rare, with only a few examples recorded from Upper Palaeolithic contexts, particularly in European cultures. However, theoretical considerations suggest that such artefacts have existed elsewhere in the world. Nevertheless, evidence for sound production is tenuous in the prehistoric archaeological record of the Levant, the study of music and its evolution being sparsely explored. Here we report new evidence for Palaeolithic sound-making instruments from the Levant with the discovery of seven aerophones made of perforated bird bones in the Final Natufian site of Eynan-Mallaha, Northern Israel. Through technological, use-wear, taphonomic, experimental and acoustical analyses, we demonstrate that these objects were intentionally manufactured more than 12,000 years ago to produce a range of sounds similar to raptor calls and whose purposes could be at the crossroads of communication, attracting hunting prey and music-making. Although similar aerophones are documented in later archaeological cultures, such artificial bird sounds were yet to be reported from Palaeolithic context. Therefore, the discovery from Eynan-Mallaha contributes new evidence for a distinctive sound-making instrument in the Palaeolithic. Through a combined multidisciplinary approach, our study provides important new data regarding the antiquity and development of the variety of sound-making instruments in the Palaeolithic at large and particularly at the dawn of the Neolithic in the Levant.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Map of the distribution of Late/Final Natufian sites in the Levant; (B) Hydrographic Map of the Hula Basin (CAD A.B. and H.K.).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bone aerophones from Eynan-Mallaha, level Ib (Final Natufian). 1: EM99 7201; 2: EM96 5564; 3: EM97 6182; 4: EM99 7414; 5: EM04 9363; 6: EM98 6581; 7: EM98 7026 with details of the 10 worked areas: 7c/7d/7e/7i being finger-holes (in green), 7a/7b/7f./7 h being shallow notches (in blue), 7 g the mouthpiece with two perforations (7g1 and 7g2) and a residue of colouring material (7g3), 7j the distal end. (CAD and photos L.D.).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mico CT-Scan cross-section of three worked areas covered with concretion on the complete aerophone (EM98 7026) showing that 7d and 7e are perforations and 7f. a shallow notch. (CAD and photos L.D.).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Details of the finger-holes and markings of the bone aerophones from Eynan-Mallaha, level Ib (Final Natufian). 1: EM99 7201; 2: EM96 5564; 3: EM97 6182; 4: EM99 7414; 5: EM04 9363; 6: EM98 6581; 7: EM98 7026 (worked areas 7d and 7e); compared to rodent gnawing on a carpometacarpus of Anas sp. (EM01 8477). Note the slope of the gnawing traces towards the outside of the perforation compared to anthropogenic perforations with the grooving traces slope going inside (Magnification 50-250x). (CAD and photos L.D.).
Figure 5
Figure 5
In the human auditory field, spectral analysis of the sounds produced by (A) the green bone experimental replica of the complete aerophone EM98 7026 (based on Audio S1); Compared to the experimental replica: (B) the Eurasian teal (Anas crecca) call (based on Audio S2); (C) the Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and the Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) calls (based on Audio S3 & S4); (D) the Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) call (based on Audio S5). (CAD L.D.).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Top: Plan of the layer Ib (Final Natufian) at Eynan-Mallaha (shelters numbers written in red, boundaries indicated for shelters 200 and 203: the south delimited part is the roofed part) with: the position of the 7 bone aerophones indicated by red dots; the spatial distribution (by excavated squares) of upper wing bones (humerus, ulna, radius) of Eurasian teal (Anas crecca) and Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) (NISP = 63); the position of terminal pedal phalanges (talons) of Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) indicated by blue dots (NISP = 10). Left: Detail (by sub squares) of Shelter 200 with the representation of the artefact distribution from the identified activity stations (in purple). (CAD and photos L.D.).
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