Antiquity (2025)Some of the shells that were seemingly modified so that they could produce sound.Its said that when you hold a conch shell to your ear, you can hear the roar of the ocean. Now, researchers have proposed that Neolithic people in Spain used conchs to hear each other by modifying the shells to make them into effective communication devices. By studying the shells and testing their capability as sound-producing instruments, the researchers believe theyve proven that the conchs were once used to communicate. Such a practice indeed existed in prehistoric times, and it continued into the modern era. The Conch Shells Trumpets Used By Neolithic People In Modern-Day SpainAccording to a new study in Antiquity, the Neolithic shells were collected from an area near Spains Llobregat River and date back to between the late fifth and early fourth millennia B.C.E. Antiquity (2025)One of the 12 conch shells that were discovered at Neolithic sites in Spain. [I]t was known that several Charonia lampas shells had been discovered in a relatively small area of Catalonia, specifically in the lower reaches of the Llobregat River and in the pre-coastal depression of the Peneds region, east of the city of Barcelona, study co-author Margarita Daz-Andreu explained in a University of Barcelona statement. She added: The apex [the shells sharp tip] had been removed, leading some researchers to suggest that they may have been used as musical instruments.Whats more, the shells had seemingly been collected after the sea snails inside them died, suggesting that Neolithic people had not sought them out as a food source. Daz-Andreu and her co-author,Miquel Lpez Garcia a doctoral student at the University of Barcelona and a trumpet player set out to explore if they had been used to make sounds. To do so, they played the shells. We had the extraordinary opportunity to carefully play the original instruments, the researchers explained in their study, under the strict supervision of museum curators.Margarita Daz-Andreu and Miquel Lpez-GarciaMiquel Lpez-Garcia playing one of the shell trumpets.They found that the shells could indeed produce sounds when played. Whats more, these sounds could be modulated, raising the question of how prehistoric people might have used them. While Neolithic residents of Catalonia may have used the shells as communication devices, its also possible that they were used to make music. Conch shells are capable of producing high-intensity sounds and would have been very effective for long-distance communication, Lpez-Garcia explained. However, they are also capable of producing melodies by modulating the tone, so we cannot rule out the possibility that these shells were also used as musical instruments for expressive purposes.The Role Of Conch Shell Trumpets In The Prehistoric WorldHow did prehistoric people use conch shells? Though their exact purpose may remain a mystery, researchers have some ideas about how they were used to communicate. Such shells have been found at Neolithic sites separated by miles, suggesting that shell trumpets may have played an important role in communication and coordination within and between communities. They also possibly helped support coordination when it came to working in nearby mines, where the valuable mineral variscite was extracted for the production of highly traded prestige items such as beads and pendants.University of BarcelonaResearchers examining one of the conch shells.Indeed, not only have modified conchs from the late fifth and early fourth millennia B.C.E. been found across Catalonia, but such shells were also used to produce sound even into the modern era. While more study of shells in the region is needed, the researchers believe that they have shed some light on the use of conch shells by Neolithic people, who may have used them for communication and music.Our study reveals that Neolithic communities used seashells not only as musical instruments, but also as powerful communication tools, they stated, which changes our understanding of sound, space and social relations in early prehistoric communities.After reading about the Neolithic conch shells that may have been used as communication devices, discover the history of Tyrian purple, the dye made from sea snails that was sought after by elites in antiquity. Or, learn the sad story of Ming the Clam, the 500-year-old mollusk that was the oldest-recorded animal on earth before scientists accidentally killed it. The post These Trumpet-Like Conch Shells Found In Spain May Have Been Used For Communication 6,000 Years Ago appeared first on All That's Interesting.