Music

Certainty Style Key

Certainty styling is being phased out topic by topic.

Hover over keys for definitions:
True   Likely   Speculative
What is MOCA?
MOCA FAQ...
Human Uniqueness Compared to "Great Apes": 
Relative Difference
MOCA Domain: 
Culture
MOCA Topic Authors: 
Rachel Zarndt

Music—including vocals (which in turn include words), melody, rhythm, repetition, redundancy, variation, and variants for children—is found in all or nearly all cultures. Music is always seen as an art, a creation. The oldest known constructed musical instrument is a flute made from a vulture bone and dated approximately 35,000 BP. It was found in a cave in southern Germany in 2008.  Various flutes or flute fragments have been found in Neanderthal sites. The origins of music are unknown. There are a variety of hypotheses for how it evolved.  Some aspects of music are found in other species. A parrot in captivity has demonstrated a clear sense of rhythm, but it is rare or absent the living species more closely related to humans.

 

Timing

Timing of appearance of the difference in the Hominin Lineage as a defined date or a lineage separation event. The point in time associated with lineage separation events may change in the future as the scientific community agrees upon better time estimates. Lineage separation events are defined in 2017 as:

  • the Last Common Ancestor (LCA) of humans and old world monkeys was 25,000 - 30,000 thousand (25 - 30 million) years ago
  • the Last Common Ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees was 6,000 - 8,000 thousand (6 - 8 million) years ago
  • the emergence of the genus Homo was 2,000 thousand (2 million) years ago
  • the Last Common Ancestor (LCA) of humans and neanderthals was 500 thousand years ago
  • the common ancestor of modern humans was 100 - 300 thousand years ago

Probable Appearance: 
100 thousand years ago
Definite Appearance: 
35 thousand years ago
Related MOCA Topics
Related Topics (hover over title for reason):
Topic Certainty
Art
Auditory-Vocal Communication
Cultural Transmission
Frontal Lobe Size
Referenced By:
Topic Certainty
Art True
Dancing Speculative
Drumming True

References

  1. Globally, songs and instrumental melodies are slower and higher and use more stable pitches than speech: A Registered Report, Ozaki, Yuto, Tierney Adam, Pfordresher Peter Q., McBride John M., Benetos Emmanouil, Proutskova Polina, Chiba Gakuto, Liu Fang, Jacoby Nori, Purdy Suzanne C., et al. , Science Advances, Volume 10, Issue 20, p.eadm9797, (2024)
  2. Music as aposematic signal: predator defense strategies in early human evolution, Jordania, Joseph , Frontiers in Psychology, 2024, Volume 14, (2024)
  3. The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm, Alagöz, Gökberk, Eising Else, Mekki Yasmina, Bignardi Giacomo, Fontanillas Pierre, Aslibekyan Stella, Auton Adam, Babalola Elizabeth, Bell Robert K., Bielenberg Jessica, et al. , Nature Human Behavior, 2024/11/21, (2024)
  4. Universal interpretations of vocal music., Yurdum, Lidya, Singh Manvir, Glowacki Luke, Vardy Thomas, Atkinson Quentin D., Hilton Courtney B., Sauter Disa, Krasnow Max M., and Mehr Samuel A. , Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2023 Sep 12, Volume 120, Issue 37, p.e2218593120, (2023)
  5. A neural population selective for song in human auditory cortex, Norman-Haignere, Sam V., Feather Jenelle, Boebinger Dana, Brunner Peter, Ritaccio Anthony, McDermott Josh H., Schalk Gerwin, and Kanwisher Nancy , Current Biology, 2022/04/11/, Volume 32, Issue 7, p.1470 - 1484.e12, (2022)
  6. Divergence in the functional organization of human and macaque auditory cortex revealed by fMRI responses to harmonic tones, Norman-Haignere, Sam V., Kanwisher Nancy, McDermott Josh H., and Conway Bevil R. , Nature Neuroscience, 2019/06/10, (2019)
  7. How Music and Instruments Began: A Brief Overview of the Origin and Entire Development of Music, from Its Earliest Stages, Montagu, Jeremy , 2017, Volume 2, p.8, (2017)
  8. Indifference to dissonance in native Amazonians reveals cultural variation in music perception, McDermott, Josh H., Schultz Alan F., Undurraga Eduardo A., and Godoy Ricardo A. , Nature, 2016/07/13, Volume advance online publication, p. - , (2016)
  9. Empirical approaches to musical protolanguage theory, Murray, Keelin , (2011)
  10. Monkey drumming reveals common networks for perceiving vocal and nonvocal communication sounds., Remedios, Ryan, Logothetis Nikos K., and Kayser Christoph , Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2009 Oct 20, Volume 106, Issue 42, p.18010-5, (2009)

© CARTA · All rights reserved.   Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Site Map · Site Credits · Related Links · FAQ · Contact Us

UC San DiegoSalk