Vietnam discovers 2,000-year-old stringed instrument

Discovered along the Mekong River in southern Vietnam, the 2,000-year-old instrument resembles a single-stringed harp and may have been an ancestor to the complex musical instruments people still plucked today in Vietnam, according to UK-based science website IFLScience.

The artifact consists of a 35-centimeter piece of deer antler with a hole at one end for a peg, which was likely used to tune the string.

The antler most likely came from a Sambar deer or an Indian hog deer, two species native to mainland Southeast Asia.

While the string seems to have eroded away long ago, the instrument features a bridge that was perhaps used to support the string.

Lead researcher and Ph.D. student Fredeliza Campos from the Australian National University said the artifact is at least 2,000 years old — dating back to Vietnam’s pre-Oc Eo culture along the Mekong River, which is exceptionally early for this kind of instrument.

How the artifact could have been played. Image credit: F Z Campos.

“This stringed instrument, or chordophone, is one of the earliest examples of this type of instrument in Southeast Asia,” Campos said.

To better understand the music cultures of ancient Vietnam, researchers sifted through a catalog of over 600 bone artifacts found in the area.

Their analysis indicates that this fashioned antler corresponds to contemporary Vietnamese musical instruments.

There are three corresponding types of instruments for comparison, including the Bro JoRai of the Ede ethnic people, the Co Ke (‘dan nhi’ or ‘dan co’, a Vietnamese bowed string instrument with two strings found throughout Vietnam), and the K’ny – a single-string bowed instrument that is uniquely controlled by the player’s mouth – of the Jarai ethnic people.

The discovery was published on Tuesday in the peer-reviewed archeology journal Antiquity.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Researchers have found a 2,000-year-old insturmented crafted from a deer antler in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, one of the earliest examples of a stringed instrument ever found in Southeast Asia.

Discovered along the Mekong River in southern Vietnam, the 2,000-year-old instrument resembles a single-stringed harp and may have been an ancestor to the complex musical instruments people still plucked today in Vietnam, according to UK-based science website IFLScience.

The artifact consists of a 35-centimeter piece of deer antler with a hole at one end for a peg, which was likely used to tune the string.

The antler most likely came from a Sambar deer or an Indian hog deer, two species native to mainland Southeast Asia.

While the string seems to have eroded away long ago, the instrument features a bridge that was perhaps used to support the string.

Lead researcher and Ph.D. student Fredeliza Campos from the Australian National University said the artifact is at least 2,000 years old — dating back to Vietnam’s pre-Oc Eo culture along the Mekong River, which is exceptionally early for this kind of instrument.

How the artifact could have been played. Image credit: F Z Campos.

“This stringed instrument, or chordophone, is one of the earliest examples of this type of instrument in Southeast Asia,” Campos said.

To better understand the music cultures of ancient Vietnam, researchers sifted through a catalog of over 600 bone artifacts found in the area.

Their analysis indicates that this fashioned antler corresponds to contemporary Vietnamese musical instruments.

There are three corresponding types of instruments for comparison, including the Bro JoRai of the Ede ethnic people, the Co Ke (‘dan nhi’ or ‘dan co’, a Vietnamese bowed string instrument with two strings found throughout Vietnam), and the K’ny – a single-string bowed instrument that is uniquely controlled by the player’s mouth – of the Jarai ethnic people.

The discovery was published on Tuesday in the peer-reviewed archeology journal Antiquity.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

The post Vietnam discovers 2,000-year-old stringed instrument appeared first on Vietexplorer.com.

View more from VietExplorer:

Vietnam’s idyllic beauty highlighted at international exhibition
24-year-old Vietnamese entrepreneur rides out COVID-19 pandemic with hard work
Seafood market in the morning
Delicious fish noodle soup in Kien Giang
Evening tour to introduce visitors to the best of Thang Long Imperial Citadel
Mui Ne national tourist site recognised
Charming nature and culture in Tay Giang
Kayaking in Ba Hang Village: A leisurely way to discover Quang Ninh’s landscape
Director Nguyen Hoang Diep: Young filmmakers possess extremely diverse voices
Vietnamese midfielder hailed by Australian news, commended to A-League
QR codes now found on street signs in Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam maintains rising position in Asian Power Index 2020
EVFTA brings myriad opportunities for Vietnam exporters
Int’l cooperation put forth for marine economic development
Farmer earns fortune from aquaculture
Oldest bookstore on Hanoi’s Dinh Le street
Quang Binh’s roads severely damaged by floods
Top cloud hunting locations in the last months of the year
Vietnamese girl “conquers” seven world wonders as a flight attendant
Ho Chi Minh City’s ‘backpacker area’ struggles to revive as COVID-19 restrictions ease