barely any effect in changing the sound.We thus conclude that this find
probably does not belong among trumpetlike instruments.
With reed pipes,a single or double reed made from bamboo or wood
vibrates and stimulates a standing wave of air in the tube.Such musical
instruments have a specially shaped mouthpiece for inserting or setting
the reed,which is for the most part demanding to produce.Even greater
skill is necessary for making or preparing the reed.The bone flute has
no trace of any such mouthpiece or embouchure for a reed,nor in the
archaeological literature can we find explanations or assumptions of
Paleolithic finds of wind instruments of this type.We did not test our find
as a reed pipe,since it seemed to us very unlikely that the find belonged
to the family of reed instruments.
Cutting the narrow jet (lamella) of air that is directed at the cut edge
(mouthpiece) of the instrument stimulates sound waves in the pipe.
Eddies of air are created around the cut edge that vibrate the air in the
tube and stimulate standing waves in the flute.To create a tone,the cut
edge must be the right distance from the source of the jet of air,and the
speed of the jet of air (strength of blowing) and sharpness and shape of
the cut edge must be right.Frequencies of tones produced on the cut
edge correspond to the flute’s own harmonics.So a selection of a flute’s
harmonics can thus be achieved by varying the distance of the cut edge
from the source of the jet of air and by various strengths of blowing.If
the cut edge is not at an appropriate distance and of the right shape,or
if it is not sharp enough for a specific flute,waves,and thus sound,cannot
be stimulated,regardless of changes in froce and method of blowing.
With thin walls,the edge of the pipe provides a sufficiently sharp cut
edge to stimulate sound.Such a method is familiar in end-blown flutes,
for example panpipes,simple clef whistles,and rim-blown flutes (e.g.,
Balkan kaval).The manufacture of such instruments can be very simple,
since the mouthpiece does not have to be specially shaped,but it is
perhaps more difficult to play,since it must be properly placed against
the lips,with a jet of air formed and directed at the cut edge to stimu-
late sound.
Acoustic experiments with reconstructions of the bone flute demon-
strated that the wall of bone (compact bone) can in itself be a sharp
enough cut edge,and it is unnecessary to process it further.This is par-
ticularly true at the point of transition from the diaphysis to the epiph-
ysis,or metaphysis (at both proximal and distal ends),where the compact
bone is thinner and more suitable for a cut edge (figures 15.6 and 15.7).^8
Production of such a flute can be fairly simple.The bone is cut or
broken at the metaphysis and the other end is left closed with the unre-
moved epiphysis.We thus obtain an instrument we can play as a clef
whistle (pan pipe).If we remove both epiphyses,the lower end of the252 Drago Kunej and Ivan Turk