Podcast: Play in new window
BOB HIRSHON (host):
Listening to the past…I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
(Ancient trumpet)
The sound you hear wasn’t produced by just any instrument. These are the notes of a 3,000 year old conch shell trumpet once played by ancient Peruvian musicians. Stanford acoustician Jonathan Abel says the instrument was likely used during religious ceremonies, inside the labyrinthine galleries of a temple called Chavin de Huantar, which pre-dated the Incas.
JONATHAN ABEL (Stanford University): They are incredibly loud. I think one of the first times I heard one was from about 10-15 feet away, man I just felt it in my chest, It practically knocked the wind out of me.
HIRSHON:
Abel and his colleagues are studying the acoustic properties of the ancient instruments inside the temple to to get a better sense of their cultural significance.
ABEL: If these instruments were played in the galleries simultaneously, I imagine that would be quite an experience.
HIRSHON: I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.