sounding clay. pre-hispanic flutes

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

ber eine Spanne von 30 Jahrhunderten ent-wickelten vorspanische Gesellschaften Mittel-amerikas eine einzigartige Fltenorganologie. Siefertigten Flten und Pfeifen in mannigfaltigen For-men, mit zahlreichen Klangfarben und Stimmun-gen. Als Knstlerin und Musikerin habe ich seitfast 30 Jahren an keramischen Flten und Klang-strukturen gearbeitet. Viele von ihnen waren inspi-riert durch meine Studien dieser alten, wunderba-ren Flten. Weil ich immer bessere Flte bauenwollte, untersuchte ich die Gesetzmigkeiten, diesowohl an den alten Flten als auch an den meini-gen festzustellen waren. Die akustischen Gesetzebedingen das Ausma der Mglichkeiten fr dieInstrumentenkonstruktion, die die uere Gestal-tung einbezieht unter Bercksichtigung von kultu-rellen und individuellen Vorlieben. Einige Instru-mente werden detailliert gezeigt, um die Absichtihres Schpfers zu illustrieren, bestimmte Klngehervorzubringen. Viele komplexe und zeitaufwn-dige Neuerungen der vorspanischen Knstler hat-ten Instrumente zur Folge, die den Tonvorratzugunsten variantenreicher Klnge begrenzten.

An artist/musician, I have been making, playingand researching ceramic musical instruments foralmost 30 years. The direct experience of makingand playing clay flutes guides and informs myunderstanding of the instruments of the ancientAmericas, and these studies have taught me mycraft. This article documents a group of Pre-His-panic clay flutes using photos, drawings, measure-ments, and sound recordings. Except as indicated,all are from private collections.1 Some necessaryacoustical information is summarized from myprevious article.2 The categories therein wereestablished to document the following primarilyMeso-American flutes: double whistles, polyglob-ular (ball and tube) flutes, pitch jump flutes, cham-berduct flutes and -whistles; as well as lip ocarinasand frontpiece whistles (definitions to follow). Byconsidering them chiefly as musical instruments

and sound sources, I hope to add to our under-standing of the music, ceramic and instrumentbuilding crafts, and thus to our understanding ofthe cultures in which these technologies arose.(Please consult the map [Fig. A] provided here forthe provenance locations of the flutes under dis-cussion.) In future studies, I would like to contin-ue documenting the extraordinary instruments ofthe ancient Americas.

The diversity of forms of these flutes certainlyreflects the versatility of their medium, clay. To besure, many instruments were built in other media,but clay endures. In Central and South America,ceramics was a major technology, and over thethousands of years of ebb and flow in the culturesof the Americas, there were many periods ofsuperbly skilled ceramic production. It is mybelief that the choice of a technology both reflectsand then shapes the culture from which it emerges. Although a skilled potter has great control over hisor her medium, clay may not be the best choice formusical instruments with predetermined scalesand pitches.3 Tuning is a time-consuming labor.One knock in the wrong place and a clay instru-ment is destroyed. The ceramic process is a dancebetween control and chance. Clay can warp indrying and in firing. When drying, it loses waterand shrinks. During firing, clay particles furthercompact, causing more shrinkage. The totalamount, from 816%, depends on the type of clayused, how much water is in the clay when formed,and the firing temperature. Ancient ceramicistsprobably wood fired their wares in pits. With thisfiring method, temperature can not be preciselyregulated and therefore neither can shrinkage.

1 Prof. Peter Crossley-Holland provided the provenanceinformation for the flutes in private collections.

2 Rawcliffe 1992.3 In Europe, finely tuned ocarinas were and are made for

ocarina orchestras, especially in Italy; also found are somefinely tuned flutes and hunting horns and very rarely,porcelain violins, which were possibly made as a demon-stration of potting skill.

Sounding Clay: Pre-Hispanic Flutes

Susan Rawcliffe

Because most ancient instruments were underfired at a low temperature, their walls are soft andporous. If one were refired hotter, the clay parti-cles would pack more densely, making the wallsharder and less porous. The instrument wouldbecome smaller, causing its pitch to rise.

Except in a very uneven firing, an instrumentwill shrink as a piece; the relationships betweenpitches should remain the same. Hot and coldspots are not uncommon in pit firings and suchtemperature variations might affect these tuningrelationships. However, in some cultures, the fir-ing techniques were quite sophisticated, and thispotential problem would have been controlled.4 Inany case, an instrument can be played and tunedbefore and after firing. In my own work, I roughtune during the forming process and if desired,finish tuning after firing. Many ancient multipleflutes, including ocarinas and whistles do haveintervals that must have been tuned, such asunisons and perfect fifths. If the ancient fluteswere retuned after firing, any wax or pitch used tomake holes smaller would have disappeared.Because many fired clay walls were soft, it is possi-ble that, to raise the pitch, a fingerhole could havebeen scraped larger with a hard stick or flint. Afterburial over time, marks of such scraping mightalso have disappeared. Therefore, we cannotalways determine if the intervals of any flute haveor have not been tuned.

If the lowest pitch of a flute were intended to betuned to an outside standard, we should sometimessee tuning holes in unplayable positions on ocari-nas and on tubular flutes at the distal end. Suchtuning holes are a primary method of regulatingthe base or fundamental pitch and are absent onPre-Hispanic flutes. Further, because the structureof some flutes is so irregular, their tuning cannot bepredetermined. Examples include poly-globularand chamberduct flutes. On other types, pitch isminimally and somewhat randomly variable, as inmost pitch jump flutes and all lip ocarinas.

Whenever we examine wind instruments fromcultures other than our own, it is vital to remem-ber that within limits, pitch is subject to air pres-sure. Without conscious intent, the relationshipbetween notes or the intervals can be pulled intocurrent cultural norms just by blowing a littleharder or softer. In addition, with cross blown andend blown flutes, adjusting the angle between thelips of the musician and the blowhole of theinstrument can also make a pitch sharper or flatter.

Clay is available, relatively inexpensive andvery malleable. As an instrument builder, I findthat, with clay, it is easy to experiment, to makeendless variations. If something doesnt work, Ican throw it away, having hopefully learned some-thing.5 Many Pre-Hispanic acoustically complex

flutes are naturally formed within the ceramicprocess but would be difficult to construct inother media. For example, intrinsic to clay areround forms; it is a logical step to affix othershapes inside and outside. In these marvelousinstruments, I frequently see a ceramic sensibilityat play, both visually and structurally. Chambersare joined together and then added to others,whistles hidden behind slabs and within chambers,mouthpieces put at the end or middle of a tube.Although there are categories of types, eachinstrument seems to be unique.6 Most were creat-ed for specific ceremonies; their sound quality,playing methods and iconographic content carrythe faded scent of ancient rituals. Perhaps at times,it was desirable to be able to vary the pitch whileleaving one hand free, as with lip ocarinas or four-holed flutes. In some Meso-American sculpturalinstruments as well as stelae and other art forms,we see layers on layers within layers, such as headswithin the mouth of the world beast and a head-dress above. Similarly, when being played, someflutes visually interact with the performer, formingalmost a half mask as the face becomes yet anotherlayer above or around the flute. Examples includewhistles with a frontpiece (Fig. 12) and some pitchjump whistles (Fig. 11). Thus, I believe that lay-ered and symbolic thinking can be seen in theactual acoustical construction of the instruments,in their visual iconography, in the relationship ofan instrument to its performer, and in performancetechniques.

All measurements are in millimeters, height bywidth by depth. Please note, that because of theirregular shape of many of these pieces andbecause some are damaged, these measurementssometimes represent my best guesses.

Except as noted, the photos and recordingswere made in Los Angeles from 12/20001/2001.Sometimes there is microphone wind noise. Sam-ple 1 on the recording is an A 440 tone. In thispaper, I do not attempt a detailed analysis of thepitches and intervals of the instruments.

Double whistles were widely distributed in theancient Americas, from North to South. Typical-

4 during Monte Albn Ic, two households had intheir courtyards what appear to have been two-chamberedkilns [These were] pits 6080 cm in diameter dividedinto two parts by an adobe wall, constituting possible fore-runners of the two-chambered Monte Albn V kiln ... Insuch a kiln, very even firing could be accomlished by plac-ing the vessels in one chamber and the fuel (predominantlyoak ) in the other Flannery/Marcus 1983, 162163.

5 Occasionally, I encounter a Pre-Hispanic flute with a high-ly quirky acoustical design, possibly the experiment of itsmaker.

6 This is in contrast to the European evolution towards theideal of uniform tubular flutes designed to play a standard-ized scale and the perfect harmonic series.

Susan Rawcliffe256

Sounding Clay: Pre-Hispanic Flutes 257

7 As in a recorder, the airduct conducts the air stream to theaperture, the opening in a mouthpiece.

8 Proximal means closer to the mouthpiece; distal means far-ther from the mouthpiece.

9 Globular or round vessel flutes are called ocarinas; theyhave either an airducted or open hole mouthpiece (as does aclassical flute). On most instruments, such as tubular flutesand guitars, simple tones called overtones or harmonicsblend to form complex tones. If you blow a flute harder orpluck a guitar string in the right way, the sound will jumpto a higher note, an overtone or harmonic. The perfect har-monic series is expressed as f, the fundamental frequencyor lowest pitch; 2f (two times the fundamental frequency);3f; 4f and so on. A regular closed wind instrument (e.g.some organ pipes), is funtionally open at only one end, andplays the odd harmonics: f, 3f, 5f, 7f and so on. Its funda-mental will be one octave lower than a flute of the samelength open at both ends, as is a classical flute. An ocarinaplays either musically unuseable or no overtones (harmon-ics). Any particular irregular shaped instrument will pro-duce ist own unique series of overtones.

10 Franco 1971, 20.

ly, they have zero to two fingerholes per cham-ber. Double whistles usually play strong beats orcombination tones as well as a unison (deter-mined in part by how hard or soft the player isblowing). Beats and combination tones originatein the ear through an interaction of two pitches; ifclose in frequency, a beat is produced; as frequen-cies or pitches diverge, combination tones areproduced as determined by the generating inter-val. On the recorded samples, I play the whistlesof each double together and separately, varyingthe sound with air pressure, or with the one fin-gerhole of the Veracruz bird. Each individualwhistle may respond differently to air pressure;thus, with an increase, the pitch of one may risemore than that of the other. Therefore, the com-bination tones will vary with a change in air pres-sure.

Figure 1:a. This frog whistle is late Classic, Uluoid-

Maya from Honduras. It measures 90 x 53 x77 mm. The airducts7 have suffered damagewhich may affect their frequencies. In soundsample no. 2, a beat can clearly be heard thatbecomes an audible tone with increased airpressure.

b. Measuring 55 x 62 x 81 mm, this Maya birdor possibly testicular whistle is from theisland of Jaina, A.D. 700900, late ClassicCulture. In sound sample no. 3, note that thecombination tone falls and rises with airpressure variation.

c. From Veracruz, this piece measures 74 x 74 x60 mm. The larger whistle with one finger-hole has a diameter of about 35, and thesmaller, a diameter of about 17 mm. In soundsample no. 4, note that the pitch of the latteris more than an octave above the former. Thecombination tone is most audible when thefingerhole of the larger ocarina is opened,bringing the two sounds closer together inpitch.

d. This little Maya bird measures 43 x 40 x 42mm. One chamber is broken.

Figure 2: Detail of no. 1 c, double Veracruzano whistle withone fingerhole.

Figure 3:This beautifully crafted double whistle measures86 x 113 x 70 mm and is from Costa Rica, theNicoya peninsula, Chorotega culture, A.D. 8001200, Palo Blanco phase. The legs form the whis-tles and it is blown through the back of the head-dress. One of the whistles mouthpieces is dam-aged and plays poorly.

Poly-globular (ball and tube) flutes:The Pre-Hispanic instrument makers combinedtwo or more globular and tubular forms cut opento each other in sequence, creating flutes which arephysically very irregular. As a result, they haveirregular overtones or harmonics and their tuningcannot be precisely controlled. Scales vary frominstrument to instrument and each seems to haveits own melody. On one end of the flute, the liprests of the saddle mouthpiece are built up aroundthe aperture to form a large blowing edge. It lookssomething like a bird beak or the mouthpiece on abass flute. Each flute typically has only three fin-gerholes, two opposing in the distal ball and one inthe proximal ball,8 yet they can usually play a widerange of sounds.9 Pitch depends on the size andposition of the holes as well as the shape of theinstruments body. With all fingerholes closed,these flutes function like an irregular closed pipe,and with one or more holes open, like an irregularopen flute. Poly-globular flutes usually play arange of irregular overtones, as well as multiphon-ics, in which, through careful blowing, severalsounds are audible (the fundamental pitch plus oneor more overtones). They are widely distributedthroughout Meso-America from the Yucatn toVeracruz to Michoacn to Honduras. They werethe most common melodic instrument in Vera-cruz, and were much in use during Maya-Toltectimes.10 The melodic potential of these sweetflutes and their wonderful multiphonics must havebeen greatly appreciated. While musicians cantransfer rhythm patterns and the shape of amelody from one of these flutes to another,because the pitches of each are unique, for Westernears their melodies may also be said to be unique.To the ancient Pre-Hispanic people, pitch may nothave been important.

For the current recording of sound samples, Ifirst examined potential sounds for a sequence ofvarying finger positions on each flute, blowingharder to check available overtones.11 I thenbriefly explored some musical possibilities.

The number of overtones increases from thebi-globular Fire God Veracruzano flute, to the bi-globular black Veracruzano flute, to the tri-globu-lar Maya flute. The diameter of the first bi-globu-lar flute is relatively large in relation to its length,from the proximal to the distal end; the openingbetween the chambers is also large. This fluteseems to act mostly like an ocarina. The diameterof the black bi-globular flute is smaller in propor-tion to its length; it functions like an irregulartubular flute with limited but useable overtonesand multiphonics. The diameter of the tri-globularMaya flute is even smaller in relation to its length.Thus, this flute also plays like an irregular tubularflute, with good multiphonics and a range ofplayable overtones.

Figure 4:a. This bi-globular mid-Classic A.D. 450700

Veracruzano flute plays a major and minortriad. Measuring 170 mm long; the top ball is60 x 78, the join is 59 in diameter, and thelower ball is 72.5 in diameter.12 The head-dress of the figure forms the lip rest. It playsessentially one relatively high overtone for allfinger positions, and does not play multi-phonics. (Sound sample no. 5)

b. From the Veracruzano Classic culture, A.D.300900, this black burnished bi-globularflute has a large saddle mouthpiece with afloral figure carved on each ball. It measures69 x 41 x 56 mm13 and plays useable harmon-ics and multiphonics. (Sound sample no. 6)

c. Measuring 56 x 38 x 71 mm,14 this tri-globu-lar Maya frog-like flute can play a wide vari-ety of sounds. (Sound sample no. 7)

d. From Veracruz, this poly-globular late Pre-Classic to mid-Classic finely constructedburnished red coyote figure has two ballsconnected by a tube and a solid supportingrod. Measuring 130 x 56 x 77, it was broken,was reconstructed, and now plays minimally.

Figure 5:This poly-globular flute from Michoacn/Jalisco,A.D. 600900, has two balls connected by onetube; it is brown with traces of white inlayedsgraffito in band and wave patterns. It is 180 mmlong; the diameter of each ball is 40, and the tube is19 mm long. The diameter of each fingerhole is 5mm and the distance between holes is 130. I didnot play any pitch sequence, however, note thewide range of pitches and multiphonics. Located

in the Museo de Guadalajara, Mexico, the photoand recording were made in 1981. (Sound sampleno. 8)

Pitch jump flutes:There are three basic types of these flutes in whichtwo or three chambers share a single aperture: awhistle inside a larger chamber;15 a chamberaround the aperture of a whistle or ocarina; andthree chambers, one with an airduct leading to itsaperture, another with its aperture positioneddirectly opposite, and both surrounded by thethird chamber. All have a unique sound event incommon: the pitch jumps from a lower to a highertone with an increase in air pressure. These instru-ments are unique to the Pre-Hispanic world. Onthe recorded sound samples, I first jump the pitchwith air pressure, and then manipulate the soundas indicated.

Figure 6:This Maya zoomorph bird/animal specimen hastwo acoustically coupled chambers and measures151 x 79 x 87 mm. The whistle forms the birdshead and the airduct is the beak. An open chamberis slung below, forming the body. Below the beak,there is an opening from the lower chamber to theoutside. To vary the sound, the flute can be movedin and out against the lip. (Sound sample no. 9)

Figure 7:Detail of the aperture and opening of the above.

Figure 8:Measuring 210 x 170 x 133 mm, this PeruvianMoche IV whistling pot comes from the Chicamaand Nepea Valley, ca. A.D. 600750. A small tubeconnected to the round body of the pot directs airto the whistle visibly contained inside the bat. Thiswhistle within a chamber is thus a pitch jump whis-tle. The pitch can be manipulated by opening andclosing the holes in the chamber forming the batman, most easily its mouth, from which the soundseems to issue in play. (Sound sample no. 10)

11 I used the folling sequence: all holes closed, the proximalhole open, the front distal, the rear distal, the three holesopened in sequence, the front two holes, the proximal andrear distal, the two distal and finally all holes open. Pleasenote, there are minor sequencing variations.

12 The proximal fingerhole measures 4.5, the distal front holeis 6 and the rear, 5. The aperture measures 15 x 15.

13 The proximal hole is 5.5 mm, the front distal is 5.6, and therear, 5.5.

14 The proximal hole is 5 mm, the front distal is 4.5, and therear, 4.5. The aperture measures 8 x 7.5.

15 Imagine a whistle inside a cup.

Susan Rawcliffe258

Figure 9:With three acoustically coupled chambers, thisEcuadorean bird is from the Manteo culture,ca. 5001500 A.D. It measures 56 x 75 x 29 mm.The tail forms the airduct, directing air to thetop ball. Another ball rests below, with its aper-ture opposite the aperture of the primary whis-tle; both are surrounded by a third open cham-ber. The pitch can be varied by moving a fingerback and forth over the top or sides of the openchamber. (Sound sample no. 11)

Figure 10:Detail of the aperture and opening of the above.

Figure 11:Each white square in the background of thisVeracruzano pitch jump whistle is 10 x 10 mm.A whistle inside and on the bottom of the cham-ber has its airduct protruding from behind. Thispositions the eyes of the player above the eyesof the world beast which in turn, has a warriorshead within its mouth, forming three visual lay-ers. This flute is located in the Museo deAntropologa de la Universidad Veracruzana;the photo was made in 1981.

Frontpiece whistles: the back of a small whistle isattached to a press-molded slab of clay or front-piece depicting a mythological figure. The airductthus protrudes behind the clay figure. In these fourexamples, each frontpiece has an indent whicheffectively gives room for the nose. When blowingthe whistle, the figure rises vertically in the middleof the face, concealing the nose and forming a halfmask, clearly changing the appearance of the per-former. To vary the pitch, the whistle can be movedin and out against the face. The movement is simi-lar to that of lip ocarinas, but acoustically this typeis related to pitch jump whistles.

Figure 12:Representing this category, the Veracruzano FatGod on the left in the photo is late Classic A.D.650750, probably Nopila phase. It measures103 x 60 x 47 mm. A suspension hole is clearly vis-ible at the top of his head. (Sound sample no. 12)

Lip ocarinas: have a large hole next to the upperlip. The pitch is varied by air pressure and by mov-ing the instrument in and out against the lip.

Figure 13:a. In the photo, the relatively large Veracruzano

Classic A.D. 600750 lip ocarina has a headwith an elaborate headdress on a round bodywith a tripod base. It measures 102 x 62 x 68mm. (Sound sample no. 13)

b. The lizard or bird head lip ocarina located infront of the above is also from Veracruz andmeasures 26 x 27 x 58 mm. (Sound sample no.14)

Chamberduct flutes: The use of a chamberduct tocreate sound is unique to the Pre-Hispanic world.At the heart of this system is a small chamber inwhich two opposing holes direct air in and out,similar to the whistle on a whistling teakettle.From one to three chambers are added to thechamberduct, creating a variety of instruments.The demanding construction of these acousticallyvery complex instruments must be the product ofcenturies of evolution. The reward is the resultingtimbre which sounds on a continuum from raspyair noise to rich reedy tones. Changes in air pres-sure greatly alter pitch and timbre. Additionaldrawings and discussion of the chamberduct arefound in my previous article cited above.

Figure 14:This press-molded figure of a woman measures67 x 285 x 94 mm, and is from Ecuador, La PlataIsland, Manab Coast, Baha culture, 400 B.C. to400 A.D. Its belly contains two double cham-berduct whistles with two fingerholes per whis-tle on the front and back of the figure. The fluteis blown through the back of the head, position-ing the players nose and eyes above. Each whis-tle has four chambers: a shared blowing one thatdirects air to two separate chambers at the bot-tom of which is the entrance hole for each cham-berduct. Directly opposite this hole is the whis-tles aperture leading to its chamber. Eachchamberduct has four holes: two fingerholes plustwo opposing sound producing holes. Eachwhistle system plays three tones: front or backfingerhole open or both holes open. Closing allfingerholes seals the air inside, producing nosound. The available pitches are determined bythe total size and interaction of all three cham-bers plus the fingerholes. On this flute, when thefront two holes are open, a near unison is played(surely not accidental).16 The right rear hole isslightly higher in pitch than the left rear, andplayed together, these two holes play a beating

16 Fingerhole placement in a chamberduct directs the air-stream over the imbedded whistle and therefore can affectthe ability of the whistle to sound. The rear left hole isangeled to the left from the inside to the outside of thebody. The sound produced with only this hole open is rela-tively weak; its possible that the creator of this instrumentwas attempting to correct this.


tone. A variety of intervals is created when thepossible fingerhole positions of the two whistlesare explored. Combination tones pop out anddisappear, magically creating multiple soundsfrom two whistles.17 (Sound sample no. 15)

Figure 14 b:Showing related complex internal construction,this shard of a double whistle from La Plata Island,Ecuador, 400 B.C. to 400 A.D., is in the Museumof the American Indian. Drawn by Athena LaTocha.

Figure 15:This Olmec chamberduct flute is from Tzoteapan,Recoleccin de Superficie. It is 100 mm long, thetube is 28 mm in diameter, the balls about 40 mmand the top sounding hole about 5mm. This fluteis located in the Museo de Antropologa de la Uni-versidad Veracruzana; the photo and recordingwere made in 1981. (Sound sample no. 16)

Figure 15 b:The internal construction of this flute, from myarticle Complex Acoustics in Pre-ColumbianFlute System (see note 2), drawn by Jim Grant.

CONCLUSION:

These ancient flutes of Meso-America are evidenceof a unique musical sensibility. Instrumental con-cepts were widely shared: versions of the cham-berduct flute are found among the Olmecs, theMaya, and the Baha culture of Ecuador; and ver-sions of pitch jump whistles and flutes in Veracruz,among the Maya, the Manteo culture of Ecuadorand the Moche in Peru. Although we see cate-gories of instrumental types, some of great com-plexity, as well as shared symbolic content, eachinstrument seems to be unique. Perhaps theirappearance and their sound reflect their ceremoni-al usage, rather than their external sonic design.Many instruments are acoustically irregular whichallows for rich timbres and unique melodies, butrestricts the capacity to be tuned to specific scales.Ceramics was a major technology in Pre-Hispaniccultures, readily available for instrument construc-tion. The use of clay for so many musical instru-ments may have both reflected and influenced theapparent lack of standardization. Some acoustical-ly complex instruments emerge naturally from theceramic process, which engendered the amazinglydiverse world of the ceramic Pre-Hispanic flutes.

17 On the recorded sample, I play first the right whistle, frontand both, then the left. I next play each of the left whistletones plus all three right tones in sequence.

Susan Rawcliffe260

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

CROSSLEY-HOLLAND, P. 1980Musical Artifacts of Pre-Hispanic West Mexi-co. Los Angeles (UCLA).

FLANNERY K./MARCUS J. (eds.) 1983Monte Albn and Teotihuacn. The CloudPeople: Editor`s Introduction to: DivergentEvolution of the Azpotecs and Mixtecs. NewYork, 162163.

FRANCO, J. L. 1971Musical Instruments from Central Veracruz inClassic Times. Ancient Art of Veracruz.(Exhibition catalogue of the Los Angeles

County Museum of Natural History, LosAngeles).

RAWCLIFFE, S. 1992Complex Acoustics in Pre-Columbian FluteSystems. In: C. E. Robertson (ed.), MusicalRepercussions of 1492, Washington/London,3563.


Fig. A Map with provenances of the whistles and flutes.

Fig. 1 a. Double whistle, frog, Uluoid-Maya, Honduras. Late classic period; b. Double whistle, bird (or testicles), Isle of Jaina. Late classic culture (700900 A.D.); c. Double flute, Veracruz; d. Double whistle, bird. Maya.

Fig. 2 Detail of Fig. 1 c.

Susan Rawcliffe262

Fig. 4 a. Bi-globular flute. Veracruz, mid-Classic, 450700 A.D.; b. Bi-globular flute. Veracruz, Classic culture(300900 A.D.); c. Tri-globular flute. Maya; d. Poly-globular flute. Veracruz, late Pre-Classic.

Fig. 5 Poly-globular flute. Michoacn/Jalisco(600900 A.D.).


Fig. 3 Anthropomorphic double whistle. Costa Rica,Nicoya peninsula, Chorotega culture, Palo Blanco phase

(8001200 A.D.).

Fig. 6 Pitch-jump zoomorphic whistle. Maya. Fig. 7 Detail of the aperture and opening of Fig. 6.

Susan Rawcliffe264

Fig. 8 Whistling pot. Moche IV,Chicama and Nepea Valley (650700 A.D.).

Fig. 9 Whistle with three acoustically coupled chambers.Manteo culture, Ecuador (500/8001500 A.D.).

Fig. 10 Detail of the aperture and opening of Fig. 9.


Fig. 11 Pitch jump whistle. Veracruz, Museo de Antropologa de la Universidad Veracruzano.

Fig. 12 ad Front piece whistles, Veracruz. Fat God (left in the photo),late classic, A.D. 650750, probably Nopila phase.

Fig. 13 ae Lip ocarinas, Veracruz. a. Figure with a head with an elaborate headdress (left rear in photo). b. Lizard or bird head lip ocarina (left front in photo).

Susan Rawcliffe266

Fig. 14 a Anthropomorphic Chamber duct flute,La Plata Island, Manab Coast, Bahia Culture

(400 B.C.400 A.D.).


Fig. 15 a Chamber duct flute. Olmec, Izoteapan,Recoleccin de Superficie.

Fig. 14 b Shard showing internal double whistles of a figure (similiar to Fig. 14 a). La Plata Island, Ecuador,

400 B.C.400 A.D.

Fig. 15 b The internal construction of this flute (Fig. 15 a).

sounding clay. pre-hispanic flutes

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