Only pottery drums in the Stone Age?

Advantages and disadvantages of wooden versus pottery drums relating to production and sound

Abstract

Hundreds of possible prehistoric pottery drums made in Central Europe, mainly from the Late Neolithic (especially the TRB culture) have been found. Their forms vary from funnel-shaped, goblet to hourglass. It is not difficult to imagine equivalent or alternative forms of drums made from hard plant tissues, which are missing in the archaeological record during these or even other periods. Aside from a thought experiment based on archaeological knowledge, experimental and experiential research is presented here with three main examples of wooden drums – a simple frame drum from a branch imaginable since the Palaeolithic, a cylindrical double-headed drum made from a log with a rotten inside, and a wooden alternative to a TRB goblet drum that is compared to a ceramic replica of the same type of TRB drum in terms of material characteristics, technology, tools, skill, productions costs, time requirements and durability. The experience and results prove that simple frame drums are the fastest and the easiest option, followed by cylindrical drums made from logs, however production costs of wooden vessel drums greatly exceed those of pottery ones. Thin walls make ceramic drums much worse in terms of manipulation, playing and durability, but fairly better in clear and loud sound production. The presented examples are closely related to Central European prehistory, but they may serve as valuable analogies to other geographical or cultural contexts as well.