Scientists examining a conch shell, thought to be the oldest wind instrument of its kind, have released a recording of the sound it would have made. The shell was initially overlooked when it was discovered in 1931 at the Marsoulas Cave in the Pyrenees mountain range, but now, a team of researchers from France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Museum of Toulouse, the University of Toulouse – Jean Jaurès, and the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques-Chirac has shared the recording as part of a new study published on Wednesday.
The shell, from the sea snail Charonia lampas, has a broken tip that forms a 1.4-inch-wide opening. According to the researchers, this break isn’t accidental because the tip is the hardest part of the shell. Additionally, there are signs of cutting, perforation, and decoration with hematite, a red pigment used in the cave’s famous paintings.
To test their hypothesis that the shell was used to create sound, the researchers worked with a horn player who was able to replicate notes close to C, C-sharp, and D. The irregular shape of the opening and an organic coating led the team to believe that a mouthpiece had been attached at some point. The presence of similar mouthpieces on conch shells from other parts of the world supports this idea, said Gilles Tosello, a co-author of the study and archaeologist at the University of Toulouse.
Carbon dating of charcoal and bear bones found in the same archaeological layer as the shell suggests the objects are about 18,000 years old, making the conch the oldest known wind instrument of its type. However, Tosello noted that the shell may not have been used to create music as we think of it today. “It could have been used as a tool for communication,” he explained, possibly in rituals connected to the art within the cave.
The researchers also found similarities between materials from this site and those from caves along Spain’s Atlantic coast, supporting the theory that the people who created the shell were nomadic hunter-gatherers who moved between the Pyrenees and the coast. According to Tosello, this migration was likely due to the need to follow animal herds for hunting.
Next, the team plans to create an accurate 3D replica of the shell to further study a small 0.4-inch perforation in its body and determine how far the sound produced by the shell could travel.