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ZUSAMMENFASSUNG
Im Ethnologischen Museum Berlin, SMB-PK(EMB) befinden sich 326
Pfeifgefe aus unter-schiedlichen vorspanischen Kulturen Perus.
Ausge-hend von diesen Objekten, von denen ca. 100 funk-tionsfhig
sind, wird der Versuch unternommen, eineSystematik der Pfeifgefe zu
erstellen und die kon-struktiven Voraussetzungen fr die
unterschiedli-chen Pfeiftne, Triller und Intervallsprnge
zuerlutern. Fr die Untersuchung werden Pfeifgefeaus folgenden
Kulturen ausgewhlt: Vics, Moche,Chim, Lambayeque und Recuay. Im
ersten Teilwerden die Pfeifgefe als Problem archologischerForschung
dargestellt. Im zweiten Teil wird eineSystematik der Pfeifgefe
unter akustischen Ge-sichtspunkten diskutiert. Im dritten Teil wird
dieTechnologie und Akustik der Pfeifgefe untersucht.Im vierten Teil
werden die Ergebnisse zusammenge-fasst: In allen Pfeifgefen
befinden sich kugelfrmi-ge Pfeifen. Diese Globularpfeifen gehren
zur Fami-lie der gedackten Labialflten mit allen typischenMerkmalen
dieser Familie, d. h., sie entsprechenihnen in der Tonerzeugung und
in der Partialtonrei-he. Pfeifgefe knnen beim Entleeren einer
Flssig-keit keinen Ton erzeugen, weil alle akustischen
Vor-aussetzungen dafr fehlen. Das Trillern einigerPfeifgefe mit
zwei Kammern beruht auf dem dif-ferenzierten Zusammenspiel der
Querschnitte vonKernspalt und Verbindungsrhre. Der Intervall-sprung
bei einigen Pfeifgefen mit integrierter Pfei-fe entsteht durch die
Kopplung der Frequenzen vonPrimrresonator und Sekundrresonator, der
dieFunktion eines Helmholtz-Resonators erfllt.
1. WHISTLING VESSELS IN THEARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT
In secondary literature the following terms can befound:
Pfeifgef, Pfeiftopf, Pfeifkopf (German),
botella silbato, botella silbadora, silvador, chi-flador, vaso
silvador (Spanish). English terms arewhistling vessel, whistling
bottle, whistling potand whistling jar. In this essay the term
whistlingvessel will be used.
The whistling vessels have been produced for aperiod of around
2000 years in different cultures inMesoamerica and South America.
The objects ofour research are whistling vessels of Peru from
thefollowing cultures: the Vics, the Moche, theChim, the Lambayeque
and the Recuay (Fig. 1).In their specific form they cannot be found
in anyother part of the world. While the outer form ofthe whistling
vessels is modified in the differentcultures, the acoustic
foundations remain un-changed for over 2000 years. There is no
informa-tion about the total number of whistling vessels inthe
museums all over the world. In the Museumof Ethnology Berlin,
SMB-PK (EMB), 326whistling vessels are preserved, around one
hun-dred of them still sounding. All of these whistlingvessels were
found in tombs, but widely were notrecognised as sounding tools and
therefore cleanedonly on the exterior. Soiling, like bits of
earthinside the acoustic system of the whistling vessels,is the
most common reason why they may beunable to produce a sound. Most
objects in themuseums and on the market lack specific informa-tion
about the place where the object was foundand the circumstances of
the excavation. Theobjects are isolated from their archaeological
con-texts, which makes it difficult to date them and toassign their
former function to them1. This may bethe reason for the fact that
their regional origin,their genealogy and their usage have not
been
1 Hickmann 1990, 8.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum ofEthnology BerlinA
Research from the Acoustic and Technological Point of View
Friedemann Schmidt
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explained convincingly up to now2. In the exten-sive library of
ceramics of the Moche, so far noillustrations of whistling vessels
have been foundeither. After the fall of the Inka Empire
apparentlyonly few objects of this kind were produced and/or used
in public. In the Spanish reports, however,they are not
mentioned.
Only few reports on the use of the whistlingvessels in our time
exist. Andritzky3 mentionsthem in connection with healing
ceremonies inPeru. Garrett and Stat4 analyse the
psychologicaleffect which happens when several whistling ves-sels
of the Chim culture are played simultaneous-ly. Both authors
mention the whistling vessels inconnection with shamanistic rituals
which aim tochange the state of consciousness. All whistlingvessels
are made out of clay. The quality of the clayis poor, the colour of
the clay depends on itsregion of origin, whereas the colour of the
objectsis not always identical with the colour of the clay,for
engobe (a clay suspension) is used for thepainting of the vessels.
Usually the painting isensued before the firing of the clay and
either areserve technique is used (Vics, Recuay) or thepaint is
applied directly with a brush (Moche).With the ceramics of the
Moche black outlines areoften found, too, but these are applied
after the fir-ing. The objects of the Chim culture are
usuallyunpainted. They are produced from dark clay andare probably
fired in a reducing atmosphere. Thewhistling vessels are generally
polished with care,so that their surface obtains a dull lustre. The
ves-sels show very thin walls, which are usually five tosix
millimetres thick. The seams observed insidethe vessels indicate
that they were produced frommoulds5. The Museum for Ethnology
Berlin ownsa completely preserved two-piece mould of theLambayeque
culture that is open at the bottom, aform which is typical of the
model technique ofthis region (EMB VA 47728, Fig. 2). The
whistlingvessels are presumably fired at a low temperature(about
650 to 850 degree Celsius), therefore theclay is porous; it is
permeable to water, no matterwhether it is fired in an reducing or
in an oxidizingmanner. Whistling vessels consisting of one or
twochambers do not exceed the following measures:height and axial
width 30 centimetres, depths 15centimetres.
Listing all these problems shows that a lot ofquestions are
answered only insufficiently. Thischiefly applies to the questions
concerning thepurpose and the use of the whistling vessels in
thesocial context. But furthermore, questions con-cerning the
acoustics have not been clarified com-pletely either. The secondary
literature available isprimarily interested in measuring the
frequency,whereas it pays less attention to the question howthe
tones are produced depending on the construc-
tional preconditions. Therefore the experimentscarried out in
the Museum of Ethnology Berlinfocus on acoustic questions, as these
have onlyreceived little attention up to now.
The following questions are to be answered:How exactly is the
tone produced with whistlingvessels? Are whistling vessels able to
produce atone when a liquid is poured out of them? Why aresome
whistling vessels able to trill? Why do somewhistling vessels
produce a pitch jump that is tosay two different tones although
they only haveone single whistle?
2 Hickmann 1990, 324: Eine chronologische Ordnung derPfeiftpfe
ist in Form einer typologischen Seriation nicht zuerstellen.
Caso/Bernal/Acosta 1968, 164: The authors dis-cuss the dating and
the genealogy. For the authors (citation:Mart 1970, 154) [] ist es
schwer zu entscheiden, ob diePfeifgefe in Mittelamerika lter sind
als im Andenraum.Dort treten sie in der Proto-Chim-Periode in
Erschein-ung, fr die es eine Carbon-14-Datierung von 373 v.
Chr.gibt []. The pre-classic period of Monte Alban starts ataround
500 AD, so that the date from the Andean regionmainly agrees with
the date of Monte Alban. Schuler 1980:Die Pfeifgefe spielten
hchstwahrscheinlich eine Rolleim Kult, jedoch lassen sich nur
Vermutungen ber ihregenaue Bestimmung und Bedeutung anstellen.
Sollte z. B.durch das Lautgeben das Gef magisch belebt werden
odersollten dadurch bei der Darbietung eines Trankopfers Gt-ter
oder Tote auf die Gabe aufmerksam gemacht werden?Wei 1979, 108: Das
aufmodellierte Tier stimmt mit denPfeiftnen berein. Es ist meistens
ein Vogel oder eineMaus. Es wurde festgestellt, da die Tonfrequenz
dieserPfeifgefe mit 2400 Hz in einem besonders sensitivenHrbereich
liegt, der starke psychologische Effekte aus-lsen kann. Daraus wird
geschlossen, da sie rituellen undspirituellen Zwecken dienten. Mart
1970, 154: Explana-tion to image 135, two-chambered whistling
vessels: []Form und Verzierung des Gefes werden durch die
Nach-bildung der Hohlmuschel als Symbol des Regens bestimmt.Der von
dem Instrument erzeugte Pfiff kann demzufolgeals Ruf an die
regenbringenden Wolken gedeutet werden[]. Pfeifgefe fanden bei
magisch-rituellen Anlssen Ver-wendung und wurden deshalb auch nie
in groen Mengenhergestellt.
3 Andritzky 1999, 191 mentions the usage of a whistling ves-sel
in the context of a mesa-ceremony. The healer (Rubertofrom
Chiclayo) carries on his mesa a pre-Columbian sil-vador that is
regarded as an object of power. During asusto-healing rite he makes
the whistling vessel sound byblowing at it and he moves it from
feet to head across thebody of a patient lying down. The tone of
the whistlingvessel is supposed to call on the patients stolen soul
askingit to return into the patients body.
4 Garrett/Stat 1977. Stat 1979, 4 is convinced that thewhistling
vessels were used to produce psycho-acousticeffects, which result
in the human brain from the interac-tion of frequencies situated
very close to one another (Bin-aural Beat Technology). If both
signals are less then 20 Hzapart from each other, they produce beat
effects in thebrain, which can be proved by variations of voltage
in theEEG. The beat frequency is the difference of the two
origi-nal signal frequencies. Stat uses whistling vessels of
theChim culture, which he produces as replicas and makesthem sound
in groups consisting of four to seven personswho bring them to
sound by blowing at them. The event isdescribed as [] an extreme
centering of the conscious-ness or Zenlike state of clarity (Stat
1979, 4).
5 Bankes 1980, 14.
Friedemann Schmidt144
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2. CONCEPTION OF A SYSTEM OFTHE WHISTLING VESSELS FROMAN
ACOUSTIC POINT OF VIEW
The tone of all whistling vessels is produced by awhistle in the
shape of a ball, the so called globularwhistle. This whistle is a
reduced form of the glob-ular flute, a type of flute common in
MiddleAmerica and South America. It can be found in theform of a
vessel-whistle, a vessel-whistle in theshape of a figure and as an
ocarina. The tones maybe cross blown or may be generated by an air
duct.According to the classification of Hornbostel/Sachs6 the
whistling vessels are listed as 4. Aero-phones. Hickmann7 divides
the whistling vesselsaccording to their outer form of appearance
intothree subgroups: Single-chambered whistling jars413.11,
double-chambered whistling jars 413.12and triple-chambered
whistling jars 413.13. If oneregards the number of chambers as an
essentialfeature, this system seems to be consistent. If onelooks
at the whistling vessels from an acousticpoint of view, however,
one has to establish a sub-group for the single-chambered-whistling
jars andfor the double-chambered-whistling jars respec-tively. In
each subgroup the position of the whistlehas to be considered,
since its position is the essen-tial criterion for differentiation.
Therefore the sys-tem of the whistling vessels from an acoustic
pointof view is developed according to the position ofthe whistle.
Further features are submitted to thisprinciple, such as the number
and the position ofthe chambers, stirrup spout handle and other
spe-cial forms which have no principal influence onthe tone.
The whistling vessels show two different posi-tions of the
whistles: It is either enclosed orexposed. Objects with an enclosed
whistle I willname type A, since they represent the earlier formof
the Peruvian whistling vessels8. The enclosedwhistle is placed in a
cavity that is often mouldedas the head of a bird. This cavity
functions as a sec-ondary resonator and influences the sound of
thewhistle. The whistling vessels of different cultures,like the
Vir, the Vics and the Moche, belong tothis type.
TYPE A (objects with an enclosed whistle)A 1: One chamber plus
an enclosed whistle that is
only able to produce one single tone. Thewhistling vessel is
often moulded as a cavity inthe shape of a bird (EMB VA 64767,
Vics, Fig.3), the tail is designed as an intake tube. Thewhistle is
integrated inside the head. If the cavi-ty is filled with water and
blown at by mouth, atrilling resounds.
A 2: Two chambers plus an enclosed whistle thatis able to
produce one single tone. The figure
on the whistling vessel has a human shape(EMB VA 64 753, Vics,
Fig. 4).
A 3: Two chambers plus an enclosed whistle thatis able to
produce a trill on one tone if theinstrument is used as a
swinging-vessel. Thistype appears frequently with the Moche andVics
culture; the whistling chamber is oftendesigned as a bird (EMB VA
5989).
A 4: Two chambers plus an enclosed whistle pro-ducing a pitch
jump and a trill (EMB VA 598,Moche, Fig. 5).
A characteristic whistling vessel of type A 4 consistsof two
bottle-shaped cavities, the whistling cham-ber and the intake
chamber, which are connected atthe bottom by a lateral tube, and at
the top by ahandle (Fig. 6). The whistling chamber is modelledas a
cavity and carries a figure on its top. Inside thehead of this
figure, a small globular whistle is situat-ed. The head always has
air vents, their shape, sizeand arrangement, however, may be very
different:e.g. they may be shaped as circular holes (of a diam-eter
of about 6 mm) and be situated at the neck orthe back of the head,
or they may be irregular open-ings following the shape of the beak.
The intakechamber ends at the top in a vertical tube, in somecases
the tube has a conic tendency. If you pourwater into the intake
chamber, both chambers forma system in the sense of communicating
tubes.Filled with water to the half, the liquid may flowfrom one
chamber into the other, if the vessel is tilt-ed axially. The water
flowing into the whistlingchamber compresses the air which is
forced througha narrow canal (the air duct) to the rim (the edge)
ofthe circular window of a globular whistle9. Thewhistle sounds as
long as the complete liquid hasflown into the whistling chamber and
the air com-pression has thus come to an end. If the whistling
6 Hornbostel/Sachs 1914.7 Hickmann 1990, 53.8 Hickmann 1990,
323: Frheste Pfeiftpfe Perus konstru-
ierten Trger der Kultur Vics. Garrett/Stat 1977 look at69
whistling vessels, 20 of them of type A and 49 of them oftype B.
The aim of their research is to measure the frequen-cy of the
whistling vessels of eight pre-Columbian cultures.The average
frequency of Type A, which features objects ofthe Vir, the Vis and
the Moche is listed with 1320 Hz.The reference tone would be e with
a frequency of 1320Hz. The pitch jump (double-noted whistle) of 14
objectsof this group is not explained any further: Fourteen
whis-tles produced two distinct tones depending on the
blowingpressure applied at the spout. The average frequency oftype
B, featuring objects of the Chim and the Inka is list-ed with 2670
Hz. The reference tone would be e with2637 Hz. The average
frequency of Recuay is listed with2000 Hz. The reference tone is h
with 1980 Hz. The fre-quencies are interpreted as attributes
specific for therespective culture. All the measurements undertaken
in theMuseum for Ethnology Berlin stay within the limits of
theexperiments of Garrett/Stat.
9 Olson 2002, 129.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum of Ethnology Berlin
145
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vessel is moved in a slow axial swinging motion, bothcavities
are filled and emptied in turns and a rhyth-mic whistling develops
[CD I, sound sample 1]. Thesystem of the connected cavities merely
serves toproduce the air compression. The size of the cavitieshas
no effect on the sound of the whistle, as Hick-mann assumes10. The
air compression depends onthe pace of the movement, therefore we
may hearvariations of tone in a scope of around 50 cents.
TYPE B (objects with an exposed whistle)The exposed whistle is
visible from outside and itssound may unfold freely in the open
space (Fig. 7).It is either integrated in the handle or the body
ofan animal, e.g. the body of a monkey or the headof a bird, serves
as a globular whistle. Whistlingvessels of later cultures like of
the Chim, theLambayeque and the Inka represent this type, butwe
find this type also with the Recuay culture11.
B 1: One chamber plus an exposed whistle that issituated under
the animal sculpture and has aseparate globular shape. The spout is
funnel-shaped. Filled with water and blown at bymouth, a trilling
tone resounds (EMB VA48308, Recuay, Fig. 8).
B 2: Two chambers plus an exposed whistle whichis situated in
the handle. The object whistles, ifit is filled with water and is
moved in a swing-ing motion ( EMB VA 17209, Chim).
B 3: Two chambers plus an exposed whistle insidethe handle
producing a trill on one tone (EMBVA 48022, Chim, Fig. 9). Because
the con-necting tube is high situated in the center of thechambers
you can receive a good sound onlyby blowing.
B 4: Two chambers plus an exposed whistle; at thetop, the
whistling chamber carries a plastic fig-ure ( EMB VA 16939,
Lambayeque, Fig. 10).The head of the bird is the whistle. The
objectmay sound as a swinging-vessel but much bet-ter by blowing at
it.
B 5: Whistling vessel consisting of four chambersplus a whistle
inside the handle. Sounded byblowing you can hear a trill (EMB VA
65824,Lambayeque, Fig. 11).
B 6: Whistling vessel consisting of a ring-shapedintake chamber
plus a whistle inside the handle.Sounded by blowing you can hear a
trill (EMBVA 835).
B 7: Whistling vessel in the shape of a ring withfour pigeons
sitting on top of the ring whoseheads are modelled as exposed
whistles, whichsound one after another, if the water inside ofthe
ring is moved (EMB VA 18277).
The whistling vessels described above representonly a small
choice of the whistling vessels of the
Museum for Ethnology Berlin. They particularlyillustrate the
manifold variants of type 413.12 dou-ble-chambered whistling-jars
appearing as type Aand type B. Triple-chambered
whistling-jars413.13 and all other types consisting of more thantwo
chambers always show an exposed whistleand thus belong to type
B.
The analysis of the whistling jars from anacoustic point of view
opens up to a dimensionthat is both historical as cultural. The
early cul-tures like the Vir, the Vics and the Moche pre-ferred
type A. The later cultures like the Chimand the Inka preferred type
B.
3. TECHNOLOGY AND ACOUS-TICS OF THE WHISTLING VESSELS
3.1 THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS FORTHE PRODUCTION OF SOUND
INGLOBULAR FLUTES
Globular whistles belong to the family of the labi-al flutes12.
Every labial flute consists of threeparts13: (a) of an air duct
where the air is mouldedinto a sheet of air, (b) of an edge where
the sheet ofair oscillates periodically, and (c) of a
resonator,which limits the standing wave and thus designatesthe
frequency of the tone essentially. (a) togetherwith (b) form the
initiator of vibration, which getsthe energy it needs to build up a
standing wave bythe air pressure the player of the whistle
producesby blowing at it14. The initiator of vibration
(theedge-tone) is nothing but a white noise, becauseno frequency is
selected on the cavity of a res-onator. (c) is the producer of
vibration which seesto it that the periodical vibrations, which
havedeveloped inside the resonator, may unfold in theopen air,
reach the eardrum and may be thus per-ceived as a tone.
All whistling vessels show globular resonators.The window is
always circular, the air duct may besickle-shaped (with whistles of
the Moche) or cir-cular (with whistles of the Chim, the Recuay
andthe Lambayeque). The angle in which the sheet of
10 Hickmann 1990, 436: You can hear deep tones if the
intakechamber is sounded by cross blowing. Tiefe, dunkle
Tneerklingen, die m. E. nicht ohne Einflu auf die
gesamteKlangentwicklung sein knnen. Eventuelle Wechsel-wirkungen
mit der Tonerregung im Pfeifenaufsatz sindbisher nicht
untersucht.
11 Hickmann 1990, 324: Und scheint auch die
verdecktePfeifvorrichtung frher als offene konstruiert worden
zusein, so ist doch festzustellen, da beide Arten derKlangerzeugung
in verschiedenen Kulturen nebeneinandervorkamen (Bahia, Moche,
Chim).
12 Stauder 1990, 81.13 Ruf 1991, 392.14 Stauder 1990, 82;
Fletcher/Rossing 1991, 433.
Friedemann Schmidt146
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air hits the edge is very difficult to perform withglobular
whistles15. The shape and the cross-sec-tion of the air duct
influence the sound. The sick-le-shaped air duct common with the
Moche resultsin a softer vibration of the tones than commonwith
Chim whistles. The sound spectrum of thiskind of whistles may be
compared to the sound ofthe stopped organ-pipes, which means that
alluneven partials may be formed within the soundspectrum, while
all even partials are suppressed16.Especially the dominance of the
third and the fifthpartial add a hollow, gloomy and dull character
tothe sound. The keynote always sounds one octavelower than with an
open flute having the same res-onator volume.
In secondary literature we often find the asser-tion that a
whistling vessel is also able to produce atone if the liquid is
poured out17. This assertion,which apparently goes back to Squier,
has alreadybeen contradicted by Wilson18. With all thewhistling
vessels tested in the Museum of Ethnol-ogy Berlin and with all the
replicas, no tone couldbe produced by pouring out water either. If
thewhistling chamber is emptied no tone is produced,because the
physical conditions for the productionof a tone are lacking. The
gurgling noises and thesucking in of air via the narrow air duct
that onecan hear during the emptying of the whistlingchamber must
not be denoted as a concrete tone. Itrather sounds like the noisy
breathing of a livingcreature19. The process of sound production is
notreversible with globular whistles, because the initi-ation of
vibration always has to precede the pro-duction of vibration.
3.2. THE SHAPING OF SOUND INWHISTLING VESSELS
The air compression inside the whistling chamberis the
precondition for the tone of the whistlingvessels. If the whistling
vessels are moved whenfilled with water, the air compression is
regulatedby the air duct and the diameter of the connectiontube. A
large air duct in combination with a wideconnection tube is able to
produce a single shorttone only. A large cross section of the
connectiontube in combination with a narrow air duct isresponsible
for the trilling of the whistling vessels.The trilling is produced
because the air accumu-lates in the whistling chamber and then, in
period-ic turns, recedes backwards into the intake cham-ber. The
air escapes in bubbles and this process isaudible as a trilling,
since the continuous compres-sion is interrupted. This principle
holds both withexposed whistles (EMB VA 7687, Chim) as withenclosed
whistles (EMB VA 62149, Moche). Awhistling vessel may also be
brought to sound, if it
is blown at the intake chamber by mouth. Theduration of breath
decides the length of the tone.If the intake chambers are
half-filled with water, allwhistling vessels trill, no matter in
which mannerthey are constructed. Whistling vessels with onechamber
were probably always brought to soundin this manner only, as, by
the mere movement ofwater in one chamber, no continuous air
compres-sion may be produced20. Because of their specialtype of
construction featuring a narrow air duct,all whistling vessels may
as well be blown by cir-cular breathing21. Using this technique,
the airpressure produced by blowing at the whistlingvessel can be
maintained for a fairly long period oftime, so that the whistling
vessels are whistling ortrilling for minutes without interruption.
In addi-tion to that, the sound may be shaped additionallyby
simultaneous singing, talking and rhythmicpulsating of the breath
[CD I, sound sample 2].
Another possibility to generate sound is to boilthe water inside
of a whistling vessel. Then, the
15 Hickmann 1990, 53.16 Ruf 1991, 150.17 EMB, object number 12
of the Gildemeister collection
shows a whistling vessel of the Chim culture, a double-chamber
with the head of a parrot: Beim Ausgieen vonFlssigkeiten wird durch
die Luftfhrung im Inneren desGefes ein Pfeifgerusch erzeugt.
Display box: Artisantechniques in pre-Spanish Peru. Object number
5, Vicsculture: In das Doppelgef ist ein Mechanismus einge-baut.
Beim Ausgieen erzeugt die eindringende Luft einenPfeifton. Schuler
1980. Im Kopf der Figur ist eine Pfeifeeingearbeitet, ber die beim
Fllen oder Entleeren desGefes und beim Bewegen des
Flssigkeitsspiegels imInneren die Luft in einem scharfen Luftzug
hinwegstreichtund dadurch Tne erzeugt. Inka-Peru 1992, 138:
DerPfeiflaut entsteht beim Ausgieen von Flssigkeiten durchdie dabei
auftretende Luftzirkulation in einer bestimmtenVorrichtung im Kopf
des Tieres. Anton 2001, 22: EineKuriositt in allen Perioden sind
die Doppelgefe mitPfeifvorrichtung, Silvador genannt. Beim Ein-
oder Aus-gieen des Wassers wird die Luft verdrngt, bzw. sie
strmtein und erzeugt dabei einen leisen Pfeifton.
18 Squier 1877, 179. [] so that, in pouring water out of
thevessel, air is not only admitted to supply the vacuum, but
inpassing in or out often causes a sound imitating the note orcry
of the bird or animal represented. Wilson (1898, 653)contradicts
this statement: [] the author has not beenable to obtain any sound
by pouring the water out. Wil-son notes that [] their sounds or
notes are given whilethe air is forced out by the incoming
water.
19 Olson 2002, 132.20 Ransom 1998, 12. Garrett/Stat 1977 are
convinced that the
whistling vessels (filled with water or containing no water)were
brought to sound by blowing at them by mouth, forunder these
conditions only the authors concept of thepsycho-acoustic relevance
of the whistling vessels may berealised. To measure the
frequencies, they therefore use amechanic blowing construction. In
this way, however, theyoversaw the fact that many whistling vessels
of differentcultures are able to produce a trill in an autonomous
man-ner, if the air compression is produced by the movement ofthe
water.
21 One should note, however, that the use of circular breath-ing
has not been proved yet with pre-Spanish cultures.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum of Ethnology Berlin
147
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steam escapes through the air duct and generates asound such as
in a tea kettle. The technique can beapplied to whistling vessels
with two or morechambers and type A and type B whistles.Whistling
vessels with a single chamber do notshow the effect, as the steam
escapes through theinfill tube. This phenomenon of generating
soundswith steam has been studied recently with replicasof Moche
and Lambayeque whistling vessels.
3.3 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESO-NATORS AS A COUPLED SYSTEM
The pitch depends on the volume of the resonatorof the whistle,
and with integrated whistles inaddition to that, on the volume of
the secondaryresonator where the whistle is located. If a whistleis
added to the secondary resonator, this results ina rise of
frequency of around 100 cents, a phenom-enon that was noted with
the replication ofwhistling vessels of the Moche culture22. The
emit-ted sound does not have the frequency of thewhistle, but its
frequency is the coupling frequen-cy of the producer of vibration
and the secondaryresonator. The secondary resonator thus
influ-ences oscillating motion of the sheet of air at theedge of
the labium. All primary resonators ofwhistling vessels have a very
small volume. Smallresonators generate fast oscillations, and
thusresult in a high-pitched sound. The pitches rangefrom the
fourth octave to with objects of theChim to the third octave with
objects of theMoche.
A characteristic feature of all wind-instrumentsis their
selective resonance; which means that inthe resonator only one
single tone can be ampli-fied. With some whistling vessels of the
integratedtype, however, we hear a second tone. Variousauthors
observed this pitch jump, but found noexplication for it23. The air
contained in a cavity ofany shape when set in vibration will give a
tone. Ifa whistling vessel is supposed to produce a secondtone, the
globular whistle has to be placed into asecondary resonator that
starts to resonate, if aperiodic force builds up to a vibrating
system thathas the natural frequency of the volume of the
sec-ondary resonator. This secondary resonator fol-lows the
principle of the Helmholtz resonator24,which is characterised by an
unspecific resonance;it also amplifies tones that are neighbouring
itsnatural frequency25. With a low blowing pressure,first of all,
in the primary resonator, only the socalled low Maultne26 build up,
which lie beneathits actual initiating frequency. The second tone
ofsome whistling vessels of the Moche which isoften a major third
or approximately a fifth lowerthan the first tone results from the
natural tone
of the secondary resonator that is generated by theMaultne. If
the blowing pressure goes up, thelower tone that was produced with
less energy, issuperimposed by the higher tone and finally
extin-guished. If we look at the relation between the sin-gle tones
of the pitch jumps, we note that theyoften obey the laws of the
harmonic series. Withglobular whistles the Maultne also include
theuneven frequency components of the partials ofthe primary
resonator. Mainly the fifth and thethird as third partial and fifth
partial includingtheir octaves produce dominating components inthe
frequency group of the Maultne. If the sec-ondary resonator of a
whistling vessel is blown atlike an ocarina27, the low tone of the
pitch jumpresounds. This observation proves the thesis of
thefunction of the secondary resonator which startsto sound if a
periodic force builds up to a vibrationin the field of its natural
frequency. No pitchjumps less than a third or more than a fifth
weremeasured. If the frequency of the primary res-onator is more
than a fifth or less than a major
22 Rawcliffe 1992, 61: The pitch of the primary whistle
isusually flattened when placed into the secondary cham-ber.
23 Wilson 1898, 656; Garrett/Stat 1977; Rawcliffe 2002,
258.Wilson 1898, 656: The author describes a whistling vesselof
type A: The whistle is inside the head of a parrot. Thedocumented
pitch jump is that of a major third (ce).The pitch jump happens []
without any intermediatesound. Rawcliffe 2002, 258 describes a
whistling vessel ofthe enclosed type: This whistle within a chamber
is thus apitch jump whistle. Rawcliffe 1992, 50: My own
experi-ments with sound production in these instruments lead tothe
hypothesis that the pitch of the generating whistle mustbe at an
appropriate frequency to activate one of the sec-ondary chambers
partials.
24 Helmholtz 1863, 6. Ausgabe 1913, 7376.25 Pierce 1985, 39:
Wenn die Schallquelle Frequenzkompo-
nenten erzeugt, die weitgehend mit der Resonatorfrequenzdes
Hohlraumresonators bereinstimmen, dann wird erdiese Harmonische
verstrken und man hrt nur noch sie.Wood 1965, 27: We have seen that
if a series of tuning-forks is held successively over the air in a
bottle theresponse is greatest to the fork whose pitch is that of
the airin the bottle. But if we try the experiment out carefully
weshall find that the resonance is not sharp i.e., we not onlyget a
response to the correctly tuned fork, but we get aresponse, less
marked it is true, but quite appreciable, toforks a semiton, a
tone, or even a third or fourth from thecorrect pitch..
26 Stauder 1990, 82: Ist der Winddruck sehr schwach, soertnen
zunchst nur die tiefen sogenannten Maultne,deren Hhe mit steigendem
Winddruck ebenfalls ansteigt,bis die tiefste Eigenfrequenz der Rhre
(i.e. hier desPrimrresonators) erreicht ist.
27 Fletcher/Rossing 1991, 449: [] the ocarina, an instru-ment in
which the resonator is a globular vessel that acts asa single-mode
Helmholtz resonator the frequency of whichis raised as holes are
opened, []. The tone is producedby using a flexible air duct (e.g.
a straw) and by blowing atthe edge of an air vent or at the edge of
the opening in thebeak.
Friedemann Schmidt148
-
third above the natural tone of the secondary res-onator, no
standing wave is build up inside the sec-ondary resonator, because
the components of thefrequency lie beyond the natural tone of the
sec-ondary resonator. The air vents inside the sec-ondary resonator
fulfil a double function: theyallow the tones to escape into the
surroundingspace28, and at the same time, they decide the nat-ural
tone of the secondary resonator. If single airvents are closed, the
natural tone gets lower. Witha whistling vessel of type A (EMB VA
589), for thesecondary resonator a is listed, the pitch jump isae.
When both air vents on the neck are closed,F sharp is measured with
the secondary resonatorand just the tone e resounds. The secondary
res-onator consequently is not able to start to res-onate, as the
distance from its natural tone is morethan a fifth, and thus the
secondary resonator losesits function as Helmholtz resonator. The
pitchjump does not take place and the whistling vesselsolely
produces the tone of the enclosed globularwhistle.
The primary resonator and the secondary reso-nator form a
coupled system which is very proneto disturbance and only allows
minor changes ofits constituting factors. This connection has to
betaken into account when producing replicas of thewhistling
vessels. Whistling vessels of type A withpitch jump we find in the
cultures of the Vics andthe Moche. The accordance of the natural
tone ofthe secondary resonator with the low tone of thepitch jump
was observed with various originalobjects in the Museum of
Ethnology Berlin(EMB VA 598, EMB VA 5662, EMB VA 48118).This
connection was also noted during the replica-tion of whistling
vessels (Fig. 12). Both observa-tions can be taken as a
confirmation of the thesisthat the pitch jump can be explained on
the basisof Helmholtzs analysis of the resonance ofacoustic
systems29.
4. SUMMARY
At the end of this paper, let us sum up the resultsof the
analysis:
The globular whistles belong to the family ofthe stopped labial
flutes and share all the charac-teristic features of this family,
which means thatthey correspond with the stopped labial flutes
intheir way producing sound and in their partials.
Whistling vessels with two chambers cannotproduce a sound by
pouring out water, because forthis effect the acoustic conditions
are lacking.
The trill of the double-chambered whistlingvessels is based on
the differentiated interplay ofthe cross sections of the air duct
and the connec-tion tube.
The pitch jump results from the coupling of thefrequencies of
the primary resonator and the sec-ondary resonator, which functions
as a Helmholtzresonator.
Analysing the whistling vessels we realised thatwe are dealing
with very complex systems. In theirproduction not only ceramic
know-how isrequired, but also knowledge of the interaction ofthe
constructional measures and of their acousticeffects.
If one wants to analyse a complex system, it isessential to
develop a concept whose constitutingelements can be looked at
separately. Thereforewith type A an experimental whistling vessel
wasproduced (Fig. 13). The whistles and the sec-ondary resonators
may be exchanged. Thus allpossibilities of how to produce a tone
may bedemonstrated with this one object. In a pilotscheme different
constructional conditions arecombined which produce different tones
by inter-action: When a whistle is built inside the sec-ondary
resonator, the frequency rises around 100cents, no matter which
tone was measured withthe whistle beforehand. If we put a whistle
with awide air duct inside the secondary resonator, wereceive a
simple tone. If we put a whistle with anarrow air duct inside the
secondary resonator, wereceive a tone with a trill. A whistle whose
differ-ence in frequency to the natural tone of the sec-ondary
resonator fulfils the conditions of the fifth third, produces a
second tone inside the sec-ondary resonator. We hear a pitch jump.
This con-nection could only be noted with whistles whosefrequency
lies in the field of the third octave.
Replicating instruments of sound, their specificsound always has
to be in the foreground. Theartisan must be able to differentiate
between essen-tial and marginal elements of an instrument.
Con-cerning whistling vessels only two possibilities forthe
production of sound exist (type A or type B),in spite of the great
diversity of their outer shape.The different functionality of these
two typesforms the essential difference of these instrumentsof
sound. The instrument builders credo (in Ger-many) is: Erst
kapieren, dann kopieren (first ofall, understand it, then copy),
which means thatonly the person who has understood the
construc-tion and the physical precondition of the sound isable to
produce a copy.
Although moulds were used, the production ofthe thin-walled
cavities without a potters wheeland connecting these cavities with
a tube and ahandle is a technical and artistic performance on avery
high level. The different shrinkage of the cav-
28 Olson 2002, 129.29 Pierce 1985, 3839.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum of Ethnology Berlin
149
-
ities and of the massive elements has to be takeninto account
when connecting the single parts. Thejoining of the single elements
(cavity, massive han-dle or stirrup handle, connection tube,
globularwhistle) can only take place in a leathery stage ofthe
clay, otherwise the thin-walled cavities wouldbe deformed. The
connection was probablyrealised using a kaolin clay suspension, a
specialsuspension produced from coloured clay. This sus-pension
also forms the basic material of the paint-ing. For the production
of globular whistles onecould probably refer to handed down
knowledge.This knowledge included the right conduction ofair
through a tubular air duct plus the right blow-ing angle in which
the air hits an edge of the circu-lar window. The whistles of the
Recuay, theChim and the Inka follow this principle. Thewhistles of
the Moche, however, seem to have beendeveloped particularly for
their own characteristicwhistling vessels of the enclosed type.
With theirwhistling vessels, the air duct is sickle shaped slitand
the sheet of air is conducted very flatly abovethe circular window.
This constructional meansresults in a soft, keynote sound. Apart
from thewhistling vessels, this variant of globular whistlehas not
been found anywhere else. The describedconstruction simplifies the
production of a whis-tle, and besides that, the shrinking processes
effectonly a minor influence on the cross section of theair duct.
As an integrated whistle cannot be modi-fied after it is placed
into the secondary resonator,the construction described above
provides a highmeasure of certainty that the whistling vessels
dofunction after the firing. The question, whether atechnological
problem or an ideal of sound is thereason for this construction,
cannot be answereddefinitely. With another phenomenon of
thewhistling vessels of type A, the speculation thatthe ceramist
wanted to fulfil an ideal of soundcomes to ones mind. The
phenomenon referred tois the pitch jump. It is quite possible that
theacoustic conditions for a pitch jump happened byaccident during
the production of whistling ves-sels. The pitch jump may be
witnessed with manywhistling vessels30; therefore we can assume
that inpre-Spanish Peruvian cultures there already exist-ed some
knowledge of the causal connectionbetween the constructional
proportions andacoustic phenomena. All the whistling vessels inthe
Museum for Ethnology Berlin with a pitchjump from the culture of
the Moche have furtherfeatures in common: the head of a parrot in
theirouter shape and their ability to trill31. The idea thatthere
might be a connection between the soundand the animal figure
shaping the whistling vesselscomes to ones mind. This assumption
was dis-cussed in detail with an ornithologist of the Zoolo-gischer
Garten, Berlin, but it could not be con-
firmed. Thus we cannot assume an imitating inten-tion. With all
other whistling vessels there is noconnection between sound and the
depicted ani-mal or other figure either32.
We started from the idea that the double cham-bered whistling
vessels were brought to sound bythe movement of liquid inside of
them33. If welook at the constructional conditions of this typeof
sound production, which is based on the move-ment of liquid and the
compression of air insidethe whistling chamber, we note that with
somewhistling vessels of the Moche culture, this con-structional
challenge was solved particularly well.In this case, we can suppose
that their form wasdeveloped from their function, which is to say
thatform followed function. This type is representedin different
collections by various objects34. Char-acteristic features are the
small intake chamber, thelarge whistling chamber, the whistle
placed highup inside the head and the stirrup spout (EMB VA62140,
Fig. 14). The liquid inside the small intakechamber never reaches
the whistle high up insidethe head; even if the vessel is tilted
extremely, thewater never pours out of the stirrup spout.
Thisconstruction thus avoids all the problems whichmay happen while
the vessel is swung back andforth by hand. Here a deliberate idea
of design thatcared for the optimal function of the instrumentseems
to have produced this special form ofwhistling vessel. It would be
interesting to provein a comparing investigation if all these
soundingtools can be assigned to one and the same ceramist.
When we compare type A to type B, we realisethat on the whole a
development from complex tosimple can be noted. This holds both for
theacoustic conditions as for the ceramic production.Type A with
its integrated whistle is far more diffi-cult to produce, for in
its production complexacoustic conditions have to be considered.
Andfurthermore, type A is painted with great care, andthus its
production takes more time than the pro-
30 Garrett/Stat 1977 report on fourteen whistling vessels
withpitch jump. In the Museum of Ethnology Berlin fourobjects of
type A with a pitch jump are preserved. The con-structional
conditions for trilling might have been discov-ered by accident,
too. When replicating whistling vessels,the author of this paper
became aware of the connectionexplained in the text merely by
accident.
31 Four of these whistling vessels are in the
EthnologischesMuseum Berlin: EMB VA 48118, EMB VA 5662, EMB
VA62140, EMB VA 598. One whistling vessel Wilson 1898,656 describes
belongs to this type as well: The whistle isinside the head of a
parrot.
32 Amaro 1996, 133; Olson 2002, 130: Very dissimilar figuressuch
as, for example, human beings, felines, monkeys,ducks or parrots
emit very similar sounds.
33 Olson 2002, 132.34 Hickmann 1990, 209, Fig. P 67: In the
Museum of Ethnol-
ogy Berlin three objects of this type are preserved: EMBVA
62140, EMB VA 48118, EMB VA 18249.
Friedemann Schmidt150
-
duction of type B. With type B of the Chim cul-ture and the
Lambayeque culture, the cavities arejoined together from single
ready-made moulds.The Chim whistling vessels demonstrate
nopainting, as the surface has already been designedas a relief
when moulded and during the firingprocess a uniform black colour of
the objects isachieved. By individual manual labour only thehandle
with the whistle inside of it is joined inbetween the intake
chamber and the whistlingchamber. Because of its simple production
tech-nique, the type described above is suitable formass
production. In the Museum of EthnologyBerlin the majority of the
326 whistling vesselsbelongs to type B; only 76 belong to type A.
Withtype B the traces of modelling are very oftenremoved only
carelessly, while in contrast to thatthe surface of type A is
treated with great care.
The differences between type A and type B canbe explained on the
basis of technological andacoustic differences. Further research is
necessary,however, if one wants to find the reasons whichled to the
changes of the different types.
METHODS
All frequencies were measured with a KORG AT-1, 440 HZ
A-calibrated. When moving the vesselin slow axial swinging motions,
the generatedsound often wavers in a range of approximately100
cents. In this case, the tone of the highest airpressure was
recorded.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe special thanks to Dr. Manuela Fischer of theMuseum of
Ethnology Berlin and Dr. Adje Bothfor the interest in my project
and their great sup-port in all matters.
ABBREVIATIONS
SMB-PK Staatliche Museen zu Berlin-Preui-scher Kulturbesitz
EMB Ethnologisches Museum Berlin
EISLEB, D. 1987Altperuanische Kulturen IV: Recuay.
Verf-fentlichungen des Museums fr VlkerkundeBerlin, Neue Folge 44.
Berlin.
FLETCHER, N. H./ROSSING TH. D. 1991The Physics of Musical
Instruments. New York.
GARRETT, S./STAT, D. K. 1977Peruvian Whistling Bottles, Journal
of theAcoustical Society of America, Vol. 62, No. 2,449453.
HELMHOLTZ, H. VON 1863Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen.
Braun-schweig. Zitiert nach 6. Ausgabe 1913, Nach-druck 1983.
Hildesheim.
HICKMANN, E. 1990Musik aus dem Altertum der Neuen
Welt.Frankfurt/Main.
HORNBOSTEL, E. M. VON/SACHS, C. 1914 Systematik der
Musikinstrumente. Ein Ver-such, ZfE, 46. Jg., H. IV und V,
553590.
INKA-PERU 1992 3000 Jahre indianische Hochkulturen. Kata-log.
Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin. Ber-lin.
JORALEMON, D. 1984 Symbolic Space and Ritual Time in a
PeruvianHealing Ceremony. San Diego Museum ofMan, Ethnic Technology
Notes, No. 19. SanDiego.
MARONN, E. 1964 Untersuchung zur Wahrnehmung sekundrer
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AMARO, I. 1996 Smbolo y sonido: Los instrumentos
musicalesfigurativos del Per antiguo, in: K. Makowski,/I. Amaro/M.
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ANDRITZKY, W. 1999 Traditionelle Psychotherapie und
Schamanis-mus in Peru. Berlin.
ANTON, F. 1995 Azteken, Maya, Inka und ihre Vorlufer.
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ANTON, F. 2001Die Bedeutung der Mochica innerhalb der
pr-kolumbischen Kulturen Alt-Perus, in: Goldaus dem alten Peru: Die
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BANKES, G. 1980Moche Pottery from Peru. London.
CASO, A./BERNAL, I./ACOSTA, J. 1968La cermica de Monte Alban.
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DONNAN, CH. B./MACKEY, C. J. 1978Ancient Burial Patterns of the
Moche Valley,Peru. Austin.
DONNAN, CH. B. 1992Die Ikonographie von Moche, in: Inka
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EISLEB, D. 1975Altperuanische Kulturen I. Verffentlichungendes
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Tonqualitten bei ganzzahligen Schwingungs-verhltnissen. Beitrge
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MARTI, S. 1970Musikgeschichte in Bildern. Bd. II: Musik
desAltertums. Vol. 2, Lieferung 7: Alt-Amerika.Leipzig.
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Santiago de Chile.
MUSIKINSTRUMENTE DER WELT 1979 Ausstellungskatalog.
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OLSON, D. A. 2002 Music of El Dorado: The Ethnomusicology
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PIERCE, J. R. 1985Klang: Musik mit den Ohren der Physik.
Spek-trum-Bibliothek, Vol. 7. Heidelberg.
RANSOM, B. 1998. The Enigma of Whistling Water Jars in
Pre-Columbian Ceramics, in: Experimental Musi-cal Instruments, Vol.
14, No. 1, 1215.
RAWCLIFFE, S. 1992 Complex Acoustics in Pre-Columbian
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RAWCLIFFE, S. 2002Sounding Clay: Pre-Hispanic Flutes, in:
E.Hickmann/A. D. Kilmer/R. Eichmann (eds.),Studien zur
Musikarchologie II. Orient-Archologie 10, 255267. Rahden/Westf.
ROEDERER, J. G. 2000Physikalische und psychoakustische
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SIMBRIGER, H./ZEHELEIN, A. 1951 Handbuch der musikalischen
Akustik. Regens-burg.
SQUIER, E. G. 1877 Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration
inthe Land of the Incas. London.
STAT, D. K. 1979Ancient Sound: The whistling vessels of Peru,El
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STAUDER, W. 1990 Einfhrung in die Akustik. Wilhelmshaven.
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WILSON, TH. 1898 Prehistoric art; or the origin of arts as
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WOOD, A. 1965The Physics of Music. London.
Friedemann Schmidt152
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Fig. 1 Five prehispanic cultures of Peru, where whistling
vessels investigated in this paper were produced; drawings: F.
Schmidt.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum of Ethnology Berlin
153
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Fig. 2 Two-piece mould of the Lambayeque culture. The moulds
were produced with the help of analready existing vessel: The clay
was pressed around the pot and divided in two pieces when it was
dry
enough; SMB-PK (EMB V A 47728); photograph: F. Schmidt,
2005.
Fig. 3 One-chambered whistling vessel of type A from the Vics
culture with ten air vents in thesecondary resonator; SMB-PK (EMB V
A 64767); photograph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
Friedemann Schmidt154
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Fig. 4 Double-chambered whistling vessel of type A produced by
the Vics culture. The eyeholes arethe air vents of the secondary
resonator; SMB-PK (EMB V A 64753); photograph: F. Schmidt,
2005.
Fig. 5 Double-chambered whistling vessel of type A. The white
ornament on red clay is typical of theMoche culture. A cross
section of this sounding tool is shown in Fig. 6; SMB-PK (EMB V A
598); pho-
tograph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum of Ethnology Berlin
155
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Fig. 6 Type A cross section of a double-chamberedwhistling
vessel with an enclosed whistle. The air ventsin the neck and in
the beak tune up the own proper
pitch of the secondary resonator.
Fig. 7 Type B cross section of a whistling vessel with ex-posed
whistle in the flat handle. This type is characte-ristic of objects
of the Chim culture as shown in Fig. 9;
drawings: F. Schmidt.
Fig. 8 This one-chambered whistling vessel of type B belongs to
the Recuay culture. The globularwhistle is situated separately
between the legs of the little animal; SMB-PK (EMB V A 48308);
photo-
graph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
Friedemann Schmidt156
-
Fig. 9 Type B double-chambered whistling vessel typical of the
Chim culture. The exposed whistle issituated in the handle; SMB-PK
(EMB V A 48022); photograph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
Fig. 10 Type B double-chambered whistling vessel of the
Lambayeque culture. The head of the littlebird serves as a globular
whistle; SMB-PK (EMB V A 16939); photograph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum of Ethnology Berlin
157
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Fig. 11 Whistling vessel of the Lambayeque culture with four
connected chambers and an exposedwhistle in the handle; SMB-PK (EMB
V A 65 824); photograph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
Fig. 12 Replica of a whistling vessel of the Moche culture made
by F. Schmidt emitting a trill and apitch-jump. Six replicas of
this Moche whistling vessel are sounded experimentally [CD I,
sound
sample 1]; photograph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
Friedemann Schmidt158
-
Fig. 13 With this experimental set the whistles and the
secondary resonators can be exchanged. Fur-thermore a whistle can
be tested separately before the insertion in the secondary
resonator; photograph:
F. Schmidt, 2005.
Fig. 14 Double-chambered whistling vessel of the Moche culture
with stirrup spout handle. In the largeair vent of the secondary
resonator you can see the enclosed globular whistle; SMB-PK (EMB
V
A 62140); photograph: F. Schmidt, 2005.
The Peruvian Whistling Vessels of the Museum of Ethnology Berlin
159