Peabody Museum: "Reviving the Ancient Sounds of Mesoamerican Ocarinas"

Date: 

Thursday, March 31, 2016, 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA

Jose Cuellar (San Frascisco State University)

Clay ocarinas are thought to be the most common musical instruments used by pre-Columbian societies in Mesoamerica. While little is known about the making and function of these wind instruments—often shaped in animal or human forms—their study reveals that they were associated with both sacred and secular activities. In 2012, musician and ethnologist Jose Cuellar researched the Peabody Museum’s extensive collection of clay ocarinas, flutes, and whistles from archaeological sites throughout Central America and Mexico. In this program he will discuss his findings about these ancient musical instruments and the people who made and played them, and he will also demonstrate their sounds using contemporary ocarinas.

For more information, see the Peabody Museum website.