Through the Eras

Evidence suggests the existence of womencalled heset, or “singer,” who chant the ritualfor the gods.IMPORTANT EVENTSin MusicAll dates in this chronology are approximations (c.) andoccur before the common era (B.C.E.).2675–2170 Tomb carvings record the earliest representationsof singing and clapping, thefirst percussion instrument. Carvings alsodepict female musicians shaking themenat, a rattle/necklace used in worship.Egyptian ensembles first use the flute-likemat and the clarinet-like memet. Both soloand ensemble musicians begin to use thearched harp.Carvings show singers making hand gestures.Scholars conjecture that such gesturesmight serve to signal particular notesto the musicians or represent spontaneousfeeling.Evidence from tomb carvings suggests thatEgyptians may have used music to flushanimals from the marsh during hunting.A tomb carving of the song “Bata MutilatesHimself” provides the first record ofan Egyptian song, also known from TheStory of Two Brothers recorded on papyrus.The sistrum—a rattle-like instrument—is used to accompany dance and to worshipthe goddess Hathor.Gender distinctions in instruments relegatemen to the playing of flutes andoboes, while women play percussion. Thissegregation is not universal in music,however, as both men and women playharps and sing.Tomb-wall carvings reveal that femaleharpists in the Old Kingdom were almostuniversally the relatives of the deceasedtomb owner and not professional musicians.Other carvings demonstrate thatmale musicians can be members of theelite class.2625–2500 Carvings in the tomb of Debhen showmale and female musicians playing in oneensemble.2500–2350 Earliest representation of professionalsinger and harpist is recorded in a tomb.2350–2338 A tomb drawing of the prime minister,Mereruka, shows him sitting on his bedwhile his wife, Watetkhethor, plays theharp for him; the interplay of a bedroomscene with music suggests the erotic associationsof music in ancient Egyptian society.2008–1630 Egyptians develop barrel-shaped drumsmade from tree trunks and ceramic drumswith animal skin covers. In addition, theyimport the thin lyre from Syria as well asthe thick lyre.Owners of stelae (inscribed slabs of stone)at Abydos claim to be musicians in theirtomb carvings, suggesting that the officeof musician enjoyed elite status in AncientEgypt.Tomb and stelae owners include harpists’songs in their tomb carvings which expresstheir views of the afterlife.1539–1075 The oboe-like wedjeny replaces the clarinetused during the Old and MiddleKingdoms.Egyptians import the angular harp fromMesopotamia and use it alongside the nativearched-shape harp.Another Mesopotamian import, the lute,becomes popular.152 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)