I just read on the Yahoo news site that the University of Tuebingen in Germany found an ice age flute made from a wooly mammoth ivory tusk! Cool (literally)! I wonder if it plays? I’d love to see a picture of it.
Jeanie
The problem with these is that the
top of the second octave is shrill; also the A
is very flat. Also wooly mammoths are
not (I repeat, not) forthcoming about their tusks.
Keep your Olwells, I recommend.
I hadn’t read the other thread “How long before this is on ebay?” Same topic. Oh well.
I reread the article. The flute is in 31 pieces, so no one will be playing it!
I use mammoth ivory in bowmaking.
Luckily the wool is not in evidence. The wooliness may be to do with the mammoths’ memory of where they left their tusks.
I have a virtuouso violinist friend from Khasakstan who had a load of mamoth ivory dug up there which was fine when he had shaved it.
Pity was he sold it before he told me about it, or the world would now be filling up with ivory flutes.
Pity he hadn’t found a supply of cocus wood instead. Now that WOULD be useful.
Any suggestions as to supply, anybody ?
Cocus wood…
http://www.gilmerwood.com/
they seem to have it in stock here. Click the stock list.
One can assemble 31 piece mammoth tusk flutes
if one has on hand a supply of Tusk Grease.
Why were flutes made with so many sections?
There was little else to do in the late
Neolithic. Assembling flutes gave life
a sense of purpose.
It is worth remembering that the quality
of these instruments is not up to contemporary
standards; above all there are consistency
problems. If any should appear on e bay,
well, a firm grip on your change purse
is in order.
But are some of thje modern productions we hear of down to Neanderthal standards ?
Neanderthal efforts typically surpassed those of
contemporary Pakistanis, IMO.
By the way, I’m offering just for today a special
price for Tusk Grease–a gallon for the price of
two quarts! Such a deal! Mammoth savings!
Jungle Jimmy’s Neolithic Flute Warecave.
Cave@emptor
god
It’s more like a whistle anyway
Typical German work !
I would recommend a mammoth ivory bush.
The early ones, twice as old, tend to be made of bird leg bones.
I suppose a mammoth leg bone would make a bass flute.
Thanks, Peter, for posting the picture! I hadn’t seen it yet! I teach music to elementary-age students and I’ll use the picture and this story to help introduce them to the history of instruments. My fourth-graders play recorder (can I use that word here?) and will be especially interested.
Thanks, Jeanie