a playlist project
Spirit of Music
200,000 years of the human spirit told through song
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Three parts. 45 minutes each.
THIS IS A DRAFT
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About an hour and a half total.
Favorite part of history?
Part 1: Oral History, Hunting, Gathering, Early Agriculture
The journey begins with the San people around 200,000 years ago. Listen as cultures around the world invent new subsistence strategies and new musical instruments starting 15,000 years ago. Ends with the Hawaiians reaching the last major landmass 1000 years ago.
Part 2: Written History, Great Civilizations
Part 2 covers recorded history starting in 3000 BCE with ancient Egyptians and Sumerians. Listen to the music of the great civilizations at their peak and their unique instruments, folk music, and worldviews. Ends with the Aztec around 500 years ago.
Part 3: Rise of the West, Global, and Modern Music
Part 3 begins in the 1500s with the enlightenment, the folk music of Europe, and the rise of West, classical music and beyond. Moves to America in the early 1900s. Ends with familiar modern and world music, onto synthetic and AI generated music in the 2020s.
Thank you to YouTube creators who allow embeddings to support projects like these. View the playlists to find links to musicians and creators you enjoyed from the Spirit of Music series.
Dating the music
The science of songlines
The world's songlines can be traced alongside genomic, cultural, and religious changes to human populations. The dates for musical instruments and styles for each culture are estimated by combining modern scientific research with recorded history.
Hunting and Gathering Cultures
The musical styles and instrument dates for hunting and gathering cultures are estimated from a combination of whole genome sequence analysis and archeological finds. These most ancient roots are often left out of the story of music.
Early Agriculture
For ancient cultures that shifted their subsistence strategy from hunting and gathering to small scale agriculture or pastoralism, the music is dated from the estimated time of this shift. These rely on speculative dates, estimated from culture and language family research.
Recorded History
A higher standard is used for large scale agricultural societies with writing systems, requiring recorded dates or dated archeological finds. People sing about what's meaningful to them, so religious views are also covered as they greatly influence musical style and culture.
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Give to tribal people
Please consider showing your appreciation for this work by also donating to those who work with tribal people to protect their lives and land. My personal suggestion is Survival International. They work directly to protect the most threatened tribal cultures including multiple hunting and gathering cultures covered in Spirit of Music Part 1.Let's stop losing irreplaceable pieces of our own history.