Arqueozoologia cultural: o aerofone de Conímbriga

Abstract

Many worked bone objects from archaeological sites exhibited or stored in museums lack anatomical and taxonomical identification. This was not the case for the Conimbriga Roman wind musical instrument identified as "probably belonging to the tibia of a long-legged bird" (Pessoa et al., 2000, p. 24). Here we suggest that it was misidentified. It is made from a bird ulna, one of the bones that constitute the wing. The two most likely species are: Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) and Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus). Differences in the location of the nutrient foramen in the diaphysis of the ulna in these species allow us to suggest that the Conímbriga aerophone was made from a Griffon ulna. In the Iberian Peninsula, there is a long tradition of using bird ulnae to make wind instruments which survives to the present day. It may be related to the survival of these birds of prey in Southern Europe. The excellent state of preservation of this instrument makes it unique and we suggest that it could form the basis for further research on Roman music.

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