Review

Reviewed Work(s): Hethitische Kultmusik. Ein Untersuchung der Instrumental- und

Vokalmusik anhand hethitischer Ritualtexte und von archäologischen Zeugnissen by
Monika Schuol
Review by: Anne Draffkorn Kilmer
Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 110, No. 4 (Oct., 2006), pp. 669-670
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40025069
Accessed: 06-04-2019 13:40 UTC

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 2006] BOOK REVIEWS 669

that the archaeologist's

The versatile NAR "musician/ singer" (the Hittite ritualduty
particularly when the
texts always use this Sumerian excavato
word as a Sumerogram; the
provide the necessary insights
Hittite equivalent, kinirtalla, is known only from a bilingual
goal of any Hittite-Akkadian lexical text) can be an instrumentalist, a
archaeological en
past people. lector, or an offering provider. The ALAM.ZU person (the
Georgios Vavouranakis Hittite equivalent of this Sumerian expression is not known) ,
a type of master of ceremonies in some rituals, functions as
UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
lector, actor, comic, clown, acrobat, as well as singer and
SELEFKOU 1O
instrumentalist.
NEA IONIA I4232 Lyres, large and small, were the most prominent cultic
ATHENS
instrument for the Hittites (as was the case in Mesopotamia) ,
GREECE
and a common word for the lyre, Hittite zinir/zinar, could
GEORGIOS.VAVOURANAKIS@GMX.NET
be used to indicate music in general. The lyre was, in fact,
a sacred cult object that could receive its own offerings and
could be anointed (also true of the horn). Harps and lutes
Hethitische Kultmusik. Ein Untersuchung
were used as well, often with drums or cymbals.
der Instrumental- und Vokalmusik anhand Because of the frequency of metal and wood percussion
hethitischer rltualtexte und von archaolo instruments in the rituals, it is assumed that Hittite music
was strongly rhythmic when accompanying religious proces-
gischen Zeugnissen, by Monika Schuolsions.
(Orient-
Horns were probably used to give signals rather than
Archaologie 14) . Pp. x + 261, pls. 40. Marie Leidorf,
as musical instruments; yet the horn was a cult instrument,
Rahden 2004. ISBN 3-89646-644-5 (cloth).
sometimes anointed and/or ritually sprinkled.
Generally speaking, music in cultic activities served as the
This excellently researched collection of the written medium for andcontacting and inviting deities to be present in
archaeological evidence for the role of music in ancient
ritual. Music enhanced the effectiveness of prayers and as-
Hittite cultic activities is divided into 12 chapters. The
sisted in intro-
the obtaining of oracles as well as in contacting the
ductory chapter includes the author's goals, methodology, deceased. On the battlefield, music could frighten the enemy
and a history of previous research on the subject. Chapter the bravery of the Hittite soldiers. By means
while stimulating
2 provides a comprehensive but concise description of musicof andthe
dance, trance states could be attained - thus
"Great Rituals" of the Hittite cult in which music was used. its importance to the ecstatic priests/cult persons. Rattles in
Chapter 3 discusses the literary, archaeological, and icono- particular were used to ward off evil spirits or demons.
graphic sources for our knowledge of ancient Near Eastern The major role of music in Hittite cult from the Empire
music, not only for Anatolia but also for its neighboring period to the Late Hittite period certainly reflected influ-
cultures. The Hittite terms (together with any Sumerian or ences from its neighbors and doubtless reflected much
Akkadian counterparts) for all categories of musical instru- from the pre-Hittite cultures of Anatolia. Oral transmission
ments (chordophones, aerophones, membranophones,would have passed along both the ancient traditions and any
idiophones) and for all types of choral performance are influences from neighboring states. It is unfortunate that
our Hittite texts provide no information on tunings, scales
presented in chapter 4, while the detailed descriptions of the
principal musicians (vocal and instrumental), lectors, and or modes, melodies, or rhythms. Yet it can be guessed that
miscellaneous performers and personnel connected with Hittite music was not totally unlike that of its neighbors (esp.
music are found in chapter 5. The last section of chapter Mesopotamia, from which we have relatively ample techni-
5 concentrates on musical ensembles (normally ca. eightcal musical information). Perhaps the field of comparative
music archaeology will be helpful in the reconstruction of
persons) , the roles of male and female musicians, the begin-
nings of performed pieces, pauses in the music, the rarelycertain aspects of Hittite musical practice.
noted conclusions of performance, and the possible role ofAs to the historical periods to which these Anatolian/ Hit-
"hand-clappers" for guiding the rhythms. tite materials belong, the reader not familiar with ancient
The specific function of music in Hittite cult is the subjectNear Eastern civilizations will miss having a chronological
chart that marks off the pre- and Early Hittite periods, the
of chapter 6. Cultic activities connected with all the festivals
are described in detail: drink and food offerings to the gods, Empire period, and the Late Hittite period. The book,
cultic meals, oracles, funerary rites, ancestor worship, and however, does provide this information within the text; the
earliest
even those rituals that are seen to be ecstatic, burlesque, Anatolian musical finds date to the third millennium

acrobatic, and sportive. The second part of chapter 6 docu-B.C.E., classic Hittite materials to the I7th-13th centuries, the
ments our knowledge of music outside the temple - in thebreakup of the Hittite empire to the end of the Bronze Age,
ca. 1190, the Late Hittite period to the 10th-8th centuries,
palace, on the battlefield, and in erotic scenes where naked
goddesses performed rhythmic dancing to drums and cymbals
and the Phrygian material to the sixth century. The Late Hit-
to entice the sea monster Hedammu out of the water and tite principalities are named and their connection with the
to enhance his libido. Luwian states and the Aramaic kingdoms are specified.
A summary and overview of the collected material isChronological information and dates are also provided
given in chapter 7. There it is emphasized that music wasinan the sections on individual musical instruments and in

extremely important element in Hittite rituals. It is further

the sections describing the different types of archaeologi-
cal artifacts from which much musical information is drawn
noted that in some rituals (esp. funerary) music is lacking
completely. (e.g., ceramics, cylinders seals, stone monuments), whether

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 670 BOOK REVIEWS [AJA110

they are from His task was not an easy Egypt,

Anatolia, one. Fitzgerald's units of excavation
Mesopota
Aegean, or were "rooms," which seems to have meant units enclosed by
Greece.
recognizable walls,
The book essentially ends except when it with
meant something differ-
chapter
ent, and floors seem largely of
a summary and overview to have beenthe
something below
precedin
or above walls. True to the style of the time, and
8 contains the abbreviations only limited a com
records were kept. A laconic daily
raphy. Chapter 9 contains the journal, object notes on
indices fo
geographic names, index cards, architectural sketches,
and for and photographs
personalmake
demons. up the bulk of the documentary record. Only an extremely
Chapter 10 provides a useful English summary, whilelimited selection of finds were kept, primarily diagnostic
sherds and whole vessels. Most unfortunate is a lack of eleva-
chapters 11 and 12 contain the excellent illustrations that
are referred to throughout the book, concluding with two tion data on the architectural drawings. Section drawings
maps of Anatolia and its neighbors in the second and firstare completely absent.
millennia B.C.E. Like the contemporary excavations at Megiddo, those at
Beth Shan were on a grandiose scale difficult to comprehend,
This book provides a wealth of information beyond that
much less contemplate, today. And as with Megiddo, it was
pertaining to Hittite ritual texts and Anatolian archaeo-
only the depths of the Depression that saved the tell from
logical sources. This reviewer is of the opinion that Schuol's
more extensive devastation. That said, Braun generously
volume is a significant addition to our knowledge of ancient
Near Eastern music, and that music libraries as well as all
suggests that, inadequate recording notwithstanding, Fitz-
ancient Near Eastern library collections will welcomegerald
it to controlled the excavations adequately and understood
their shelves. his finds sufficiently to make important contributions to the
Anne Draffkorn Kilmer site and regional chronology. Let us not forget that before
Wright's pioneering ceramic typology of 1937, scholars of
ARIZONA SENIOR ACADEMY the Early Bronze Age were largely flying blind. Indeed, Fitz-
I3871 EAST LANGTRY LANE gerald's 1935 publication of early ceramics from Beth Shan
TUCSON, ARIZONA 85707 (whose plates Braun helpfully reproduces here) was invalu-
ADKILMER@BERKELEY.EDU able to Wright, as it was many decades later to graduate students
who scampered about looking for copies of MusJ to under-
stand the materials for themselves. Fitzgerald, it should be
recalled, went on to work on Jericho pottery for Garstang.
Early Beth Shan (Strata XIX-XIII): G.M. Fitz- To distinguish from Fitzgerald's "levels," Braun uses the
gerald's Deep Cut on the Tell, by Eliot Braun term "stratum." The stratigraphic sequences recovered in
(University Museum Monograph 121). Pp. xiv + the Deep Cut span the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic
periods, with an apparent gap during the Late Chalcolithic
194, figs. 113, pls. 6, tables 22. University of Penn-
or Ghassulian period. Occupation resumed during the Early
sylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropol- Bronze I period, but there is another hiatus during Early
ogy, Philadelphia 2004. $49. ISBN 1-931707-62-6 Bronze II. This and subsequent periods are not represented
(cloth). in the Deep Cut materials published here. The earliest strata
contain hard-to-connect walls, pits, and installations, followed
Deeply stratified Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early by curvilinear architecture and miscellaneous walls constitut-
Bronze Age sites in the Jordan Valley, such as Beth Shan, ing rooms in the earlier Early Bronze I strata. The later strata
Beth Yerah, and Tell Esh Shunah, have all been extensively see rectilinear architecture on a difficult-to-discern plan of
excavated, but, with the exception of Jericho, they have structures and lanes. This progression generally characterizes
not been well published. Reviving a site such as Beth Shan, the Early Bronze I throughout the Southern Levant. The
excavated in the early days of biblical archaeology, requires architecture is usefully illustrated by Braun 's revised plans
skill and courage. as well as by field photographs.
Braun, one of the leading figures in the study of the Braun's discussion of the pottery is primarily typological
Levantine Early Bronze Age and the excavator of dozens of rather than stratigraphic. Floors were ephemeral and went
sites in Israel, is more than up to the task. Fitzgerald's exca- unnoticed, post-depositional disturbances were considerable,
vations for the University of Pennsylvania were undertaken and there is no way to know what was found and what was
from 1921 to 1933, when, it must be admitted, virtually no saved. Still, Braun does a good job discussing the material,
one anywhere had more than a basic idea of what he or she noting its local parallels (not least of all from his own various
was doing. Some had much less. The "Deep Cut" into the tell, excavations) , and presents new drawings and photographs,
which Braun publishes here, was carried out between 5 Oc- as well as selected archival photos. The pottery is typical for
tober and 13 November 1933. Digging an area 16 x 24 m northern Israel, with the fifth and fourth millennia B.C.E.
to 5 m depth in 33 workdays shows, if nothing else, ambi- materials resuming their traditionally disputed status. In par-
tion. Some 70 years after the fact, only the very confident or ticular, Braun expresses sharp disagreement with Garfinkel's
the very daring should undertake the task of reviving long- somewhat nebulous concept of a Middle Chalcolithic period.
forgotten material. He goes so far to suggest that some materials identified by
Analyzing and publishing such material is inevitably an Garfmkel from Beth Shan's early, mixed deposits as Chalco-
exercise in frustration for everyone involved. But with such a lithic are in fact Early Bronze I, a conclusion that among other
warning in mind, it is a pleasure to say that Braun has done things raises questions regarding surface survey results. The
an admirable job sorting out extremely difficult material. Early Bronze I pottery is fairly typical for the Jordan Valley.

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