is provided by the sharp edge of the hollowed-out hole on which we blow,
and the instrument is thus held crosswise to the mouth (figure 15.9c).It
can often be found in the professional literature that such a method of
blowing on an instrument is more recent than lengthwise production
of sound (e.g.,Andreis 1958;Horusitzky 1955 after Sachs 1929).
We could also stimulate sound with reconstructions in the manner of
transverse flutes.This was especially possible where the bone wall was
thin,in which any kind of hole easily sufficed as a sharp cut edge.
With thicker walls,it was necessary to make the hole more carefully in
order to create a sharp,rectangular edge.We were able to achieve
individual tones only with such a method of blowing,some fairly indis-
tinct and difficult to produce.Overblowing to produce overtones was not
possible.
The basic tone of a flute depends on its length and is fairly simple to
calculate for cylindrical pipes,or at least pipes of the same mensure
(internal cross section and shape,internal profile) throughout their
length (e.g.,Adlesˇicˇ 1964;Kunej 1997).The basic frequency of flutes in
which the mensure changes (conically,exponentially,etc.) is a great deal
more difficult to calculate mathematically.The basic pitch,despite the
same physical measurements (length,cross section at the ends),can
differ considerably because of different internal profiles.The internal
profile also greatly affects the sound spectrum (timbre,higher harmonic
oscillations) and the practical possibility of producing sound at all.So
with too wide or too narrow an internal profile,sound cannot be pro-
duced at all.
The interior (medullary cavity) of the femur of a young bear is not a
regular cylindrical shape.At the proximal end,and even more at the
distal end,the bone widens in a fan shape,which greatly influences the
internal cross section of cortical bone.Determining the basic frequen-
cies of a flute with such an internal profile from the physical measure-
ments of the bone is extremely difficult.An additional difficulty in our
find was caused by the fact that the exact length of the suspected flute is
unknown,since the bone was damaged at the ends.However,we con-
cluded that it could not have been much longer than as it was found,
since bone itself does not allow this.^9 Therefore,we used the same length
of bone as the original,except that we suitably terminated the damaged
ends.
Changes in embouchure and strength of blowing represent a problem
in determining the basic frequency of the flute.They can cause major dif-
ferences in the basic pitch—by a whole tone or more—in the same flute
and with the same method of blowing.Figure 15.10 shows the limits of
intonation of the basic tone,which was fairly simple to produce for a
particular reconstruction and method of blowing.The basic tone lay257 New Perspectives on the Beginnings of Music