Indeed, Gonthier maintains that our cave-dwelling ancestors were not only apt at making stone tools and painting on cave walls. The existence of the lithophone proves that cavemen also made and presumably played music instruments.

There will be only three lithophone concerts before these invaluable stone instruments are locked away forever. The concerts will be held on the 22^nd and 24^th of March 2014 at the National History Museum of Paris. "That will be their last concert together. We will never repeat it, for ethical reasons -- to avoid damaging our cultural heritage. We don't want to add to the wear of these instruments," said the music archaeologist. Quite an understandable preventive measure!

Lithophones

The piece that will be played on these stone instruments has been composed by classical composer Philippe Fenelon. It has fittingly been dubbed "Paleomusique". The lithophone collection will be played like a xylophone, with a mallet. It is Erik Gonthier who discovered that these oblong shaped instruments could be played in such a manner. In fact, it was him who discovered that they could generate sound and were therefore music instruments used by cavemen.

Experts of the museum thought that they were grain grinders or pestles. However, when Gonthier struck the instruments out of curiosity, he discovered that they were musical objects. The music archaeologist theorises that the paintings of cavemen and these instruments are closely linked. 

Typos: litophone, lithophon, cavmen, cavemans

Image credit: ©AFP PHOTO/JACQUES DEMARTHON

Modern lithophone demonstration