This gallery presents the research of the Argentine archaeomusicologist Mónica Gudemos, who collaborated with MAPI from 2016 to 2021 on the analysis and interpretation of this set of instruments, which belong to our collection. We observe a series of aerophones — that is, wind instruments — made by different Indigenous cultures that in the past occupied the coast of what is now Ecuador.

Researcher Gudemos is a leading figure in the field of archaeomusicology. Archaeomusicology is the science that studies the musical expressions of prehistoric and historical cultures. It is an interdisciplinary field that combines methods from archaeology, musicology and ethnography, among others, to reconstruct and understand the musical practices of past societies. The study of these pieces was made possible thanks to the collaboration of institutions such as the Maciel Hospital and the High Technology Center of Uruguay, which provided technology and staff specialized in CT scans, X-rays and diagnostic imaging, key to the comprehensive study and contextualization of the pieces in the collection.

The instruments studied are approximately 2,500 to 1,500 years old. Their production is associated with various societies of present-day Ecuador, including cultures such as Guangala, Bahía, Jama-Coaque and Tumaco-La Tolita. These peoples achieved significant social and political development, organizing themselves into lordships or chiefdoms with a high degree of social differentiation and stratification. These societies also stood out for their strong specialization in the manufacture of musical instruments and for developing intense trade exchanges.

Some of the aerophones studied are ornithomorphic whistles, that is, whistles with bird figures. These whistles consist of two main elements: the body and the head of the bird. The body, which acts as an air circulation chamber, has a mouthpiece at the tail through which air is blown in. The air passes through the circulation chamber until it reaches the head through an insufflation channel (the neck). The head functions as a resonance chamber, allowing the air to escape through holes and produce sound. In addition, decorative elements, such as the bird’s feet, are carefully added to complete the piece.

The study of the pieces determined, however, that not all of them had an acoustic function. Some are simply figures that reproduce the shape of an ornithomorphic whistle, and others lost their functionality due to sedimentation inside the instrument.