Music connected cultures in the prehistoric Arabian Gulf

Archaeologists have analyzed a pair of copper cymbals from Bronze Age Oman, suggesting a shared musical tradition connected cultures and helped facilitate trade around the Arabian Gulf.

Music is a universal aspect of human life that is present in all societies. Whether used in religious ceremonies, cultural events or simply for entertainment, music has often acted as a force for bringing people together.

However, musical instruments are often made of materials such as wood and metal, which do not commonly survive in the archaeological record. This makes it difficult to learn how music shaped prehistoric cultures.

Therefore, a pair of copper alloy cymbals excavated from the third millennium BC “Umm an-Nar” culture site of Dahwa, Oman, is a rare and important find.

“These copper alloy cymbals are the first of their kind to have been found in good archaeological contexts in Oman and are from a particularly early context that questions some of the assumptions on their origin and development,” says lead author of the research, Professor Khaled Douglas from Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.

To investigate the origins of the cymbals, archaeologists from Sultan Qaboos University analyzed them visually and performed isotope analysis of the copper. Their results are published in the journal Antiquity.

Despite being stylistically similar to examples of cymbals from the contemporary Indus Valley, isotope analysis indicates the cymbals were produced in Oman.

This suggests that production of the cymbals was influenced through contact between the Umm an-Nar culture and the Indus Valley civilization.

Trade around the Arabian Gulf is well-attested during the Bronze Age. Many examples of ceramics, beads and metal objects that share similarities with those from the Indus Valley have been found in Arabia.

However, these discoveries have predominantly been examined economically, and the social implications of this extensive interaction remain unclear.

“The Early Bronze Age (Umm-an-Nar period) has already shown rich evidence of interregional contact,” says co-author Professor Nasser Al-Jahwari. “However, the exact nature of these contacts is still a matter of study and debate.”

The discovery of the cymbals, therefore, indicates that the connections between the Gulf’s Bronze Age cultures were not purely based on trade. Cultural practices likely flowed between the Arabian Peninsula and Indus Valley as much as materials.

Musical traditions were likely a key aspect of life around the entire Arabian Gulf, possibly even indicating shared rituals or religious beliefs. Music may have been the glue holding these different cultures together and ensuring their harmonious relationships.

“Discovery of the Dahwa cymbals encourages the view that already during the late third millennium BC, music, chanting and communal dancing set the tone for mediating contact between various communities in this region for the millennia to follow,” conclude the authors.