1970.001 by Meso & Central American Sound Library Project

This unprovenienced Maya aerophone features an anthropomorphized toad in a standing position and dates to the Late Classic Period (A.D. 600-850). Although its external morphology reminds the numerous tripod vessel flutes or effigy whistles unearthed in the Lowlands, Highlands, and Pacific coastal Maya areas, the large orifice in the anuran’s pelvic region and the double ducted mouthpiece set it apart from the aerophone types mentioned above.

In this particular case, the outer shell of the figurine does not serve as a resonator wall but rather encloses a sophisticated sound-producing system. Indeed, the radiographic image shows that a complex airduct assembly, two spheroidal resonators (or counter-pressure chambers), and their exit tubes are interconnected in there. A sectional view of a μCT-based 3D rendering clarifies the organological configuration of 1970.001 (please click on track 1 'info' button to access said picture). Acoustic waves are generated by a "hole-tone" system similar to a whistle steam kettle. Two constricted orifices are held a short distance apart: a tubular airduct's outlet and a spheroidal resonator's inlet. Both holes are approximately the same size and axially aligned. Susan Rawcliffe has named the space between the two narrow openings "chamber duct". In Mesoamerican organology, the "chamber duct" assembly type is usually connected to a resonator or exit tube (or both). This coupling to a resonator (tubular or other) tends to stabilize the frequency of the acoustic waves generated. For 1970.001, it's the length of the exit tubes and the volume of the counterpressure chambers that determine the resulting fundamental frequencies.

Such wind instruments have been reported in various academic publications under "noise generators", Maya "goiter flutes", Maya "clarinets" (unless no reed is used to generate the sound), etc. However, 1970.001 is the first one to be reported with such a double configuration. Furthermore, this instrument's complex organological configuration aims to generate beats that mimic the iterations of the depicted anuran's call (possibly a Rhinella marina). For a more in-depth analysis of 1970.001 (e.g. an emic approach to the symbolic impact of the performer's gesture), please consult the following paper: https://doi.org/10.35424/rearam.v0i40.1250.

The sonic artifact has probably been retrieved (or, more likely, looted) on the territory of present-day Mexico. But its exact provenience (Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Chiapas) remains unclear. The wind instrument is currently on display at the Musical Instruments Museum, Brussels. The MIM purchased it from Émile Deletaille on March 10, 1970.

Overall dimensions (height x width x depth): 18.90 x 8.49 x 9.89 (cm).

The MCASL Project aims to share, visually and sonically, a sample of the large pre-Columbian era sound-producing artifacts collection from Mesoamerica and Central America housed at the Royal Museums of Art and History (KMKG-MRAH), Brussels. The development of this audio/data library is part of Jean-François Brohée's doctoral research, funded by a FRESH grant of the F.R.S.-FNRS.