CONCH

Lip-reed instrument found all over the world. Used for military, ritual, naval signaling, etc.

17,000-10,000 BCE—Marsoulas, France: A conch shell found in an archaological dig in Marsoulas cave, Haute-Garonne, France in 1931 dates from this range (see below image; wikimedia commons; Muséum de Toulouse).

14th century—Veracruz, Mexico (probably): Two named and semi-divine conch players face each other. Mixtec manuscript. Codex Vindobonensis pl. 16 (detail).

16th century—Mexico City, Mexico: Diego Durán, a chronicler and Dominican Friar, depicts Aztecs bringing water via an aqueduct into their capital, Tenochtitlan. Rituals, including child sacrifice, were performed so the gods would bless the project. The middle figure in the image plays a conch as part of the ritual (see below image; public domain; Madrid Biblioteca).

c. 1650—Cornelis van Dalen (Flemish, 1638-1664), Neptune Rising from the Sea (see below; public domain).

2006—Korea: A Korean military procession (daechwita) is shown playing Charonia tritonis conches (nagak) (2006). See below image (public domain; wikimedia commons).

SHOFAR

c. 1500 BCE—Trumpet of Bible in most cases. Earliest mention is at the giving of the Ten Commandments during the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 19:19). Ram’s horn, kudu’s horn, or horn of any other kosher animal except cow. Used for religious ritual, but also signaling, alarms, celebrations, laments, and warfare. Continues to be used today.

6th century BCE—Judea: Jews are authorized by Persian Empire to produce coins, many of which featured a shofar, among other symbols (see below; public domain).

1st century AD—Shofar in synagogue mosaic (see below; public domain).

2nd century AD—Rome, Italy: Gold goblet showing Jewish ritual objects, including shofar (see below; public domain).

OXUS TRUMPET

Small trumpets found in the Oxus region (modern Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Possibly used to imitate/lure animals. Generally dated 2200-1800 BCE.

Late 3rd-Early 2nd millenium BCE—Oxus region: Trumpet decordated with a human head (Louvre). See below.

1300 BCE-1,000 BCE—Bactria-Margiana, Oxus region: Small gold-copper alloy trumpet with decorative bison heads (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). See below.

TUTANKHAMUN TRUMPETS

c. 1330 BCE—Egypt: Tutankhamun trumpets. A pair of trumpets found in the burial chamber of the Eighteenth Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun (c. 1341–c. 1323 BCE). The trumpets were found in 1922 by Howard Carter during the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb (see below; public domain).

LUR or LUR HORN

Curved lip reed instrument cast in bronze dating to the Late Bronze Age (Bronze age is 3300-1200 BCE). Usually S-shaped. Often found in symmetrical pairs.

c. 1300 BCE—Zealand, Denmark: A lur found in Brudevælte Mose, northeast of Lynge in Zealand, Denmark (see below).

c. 1300 BCE—Rogaland, Norway: The Revheim lurs, discovered close to Hafrsfjord in Rogaland, Norway (see below).

c. 1300 BCE—Kivik, Skåne, Sweden: Rock carving of lurs (see below; public domain).

IRISH HORN

Curved horns, mainly bronze, present in great numbers in the Late Bronze Age Ireland. Purpose unknown, but speculation is ritual and military.

1000 BCE-800 BCE—Dunmanway, Ireland copper alloy Irish horn (British Museum). See below.

Late Bronze Age (c. 1500 BCE-500 BCE)—Drumbest, Co. Antrim, Ireland: A pair of horns, one side-blown and the other end-blown (Ulster Museum, Belfast). See below.

GREEK SALPINX

Greek brass instrument used for military calls, Olympic competition.

Late 6th-early 5th century BCE: Vase depicting warrior playing the salpinx. Attic black-figure lekythos (see below; public domain).

c. 520 BCE—Athens, Greece: Pottery with black-figured pinax (plate) showing a soldier blowing a salpinx. Attributed to the painter Psiax (British Museum). See below; public domain.

1st Century BCE—Alexandria, Egypt: Terracotta figurine of musicians playing the salpinx and the hydraulis (Louvre). See below; public domain.

CELTIC/GALLIC CARNYX

Celtic and Gallic instrument of the iron age, generally 200 BCE-200 AD. The carnyx was used for war (signaling and intimidation), and ritual occasions.

Modern reconstruction of a carnyx (see below; public domain, wikipedia.com):

200 BCE-200 AD—Trintignac, France: Two examples (one nearly complete instrument and another only the bell/head) of carnyces were found in the Gallic sanctuary of Tintignac (Corrèze). See below 2 images.

150 BCE-1 BCE—Denmark/broader Europe: The Gundestrup Cauldron, discovered in Gundestrop, Denmark in 1891. The origin is not known, but is probably not Denmark; most historians consider the cauldron European, though likely farther south than Denmark (see full image and detail below).

ROMAN TUBA

Roman straight trumpet used for military and religious rituals.

113 AD—Rome, Italy: The Roman tuba is pictured in a scene of Trajan’s Column (see below; public domain).

2nd century AD—Zliten, Libya: Detail from the Zliten mosaic. Musicians play a Roman tuba, a water organ (hydraulis), and a pair of cornua (see below, public domain).

c. 270-280 AD—Rome, Italy: Detail with the tubicen (tuba player) on the front of an Achilleus sarcophagus at the Musei Vaticani, formerly in the Cortile del Belvedere (see below, public domain).

4th century AD: Gafsa, Tunisia: A tubicen (tuba player) accompanying an athletic contest. Detail of the mosaic floor from the villa in Gafsa, Tunisia. Tunisia, Gafsa, Museum (see below; public domain).

ROMAN CORNU

Roman brass instrument, circular in shape, used for military calls and to accompany games (athletic/gladiator) in an arena.

113 AD—Rome, Italy: The cornu is pictured in several scenes of Trajan’s Column. The horn is used for signaling in the Roman army, particularly in conjunction with the standard-bearers. According to Vegetius (Epitoma Rei Militaris 2.22) each legion had 36 cornicenes. See two scenes from the column, below.

2nd-3rd century AD—Nennig, Germany: The gladiator mosaic at a Roman Villa south of Trier features a cornu and hydraulis performing in association with a gladiator competition (see below; public domain).

251-252 AD—Rome, Italy: African soldier playing the cornu, from a detail of the so-called “Grande Ludovisi” sarcophagus, with a battle scene between Roman soldiers and Germans (see below; public domain).

ETRUSCO-ROMAN LITUUS

J-shaped brass instrument used in processions (especially funerals) and military (especially cavalry) in both Etruscan and Roman tradition.

c. 100-400 AD: Etruscan and Roman empires. Best known extant examples are the so-called Saalburg and Rüsselsheim lituus (both from Germany) and the Malbork lituus (from Poland). Shown here is a lituus found in the Rhine River near Dusseldorf, Germany (see below).

100 BCE-1 BCE—Amiternum, Italy: Amiternum Sarcophagus relief showing a Roman funeral procession with lituus in uppper-right corner (Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo, L’Aquila). See detail and bull image below; public domain.

DIDGERIDOO

Australian aboriginal instrument made from hollowed-out log.

c. 1000 AD—Northern Australia: Didgeridoo is developed in Northern Australia by at least this time.

INDIAN TRUMPETS

1205—India: Face of the al Jazari water clock, 1205 (detail). See below.

NAFIRS IN MAQAMAT AL-HARIRI

1237—Basra, Iraq (Seljuk Empire): A scene from the manuscript Maqamat Al-Hariri shows a group of riders with flags, standards, and musical instruments, including 2 trumpets (the nafir—a straight natural trumpet). See below; public domain.