Tubular Bone Artefacts in Burial Context at Ajvide, Gotland c. 2500 cal BC: Are they Musical Instruments?

Tubular bone artefacts of different size and form are commonly found in the Middle Neolithic inhumation burials in Gotland and Öland, Sweden. These burials were made by the people of the so-called Scandinavian Pitted Ware Culture. Small tubular artefacts have commonly been interpreted as beads used in decoration as they, in many cases, appear in clusters at the head region and along the body. In 1998 at Ajvide, archaeologists discovered a grave (62), which contained a large number of grave goods, among them tubular bone artefacts of an extraordinary character. Based on their outlook, these single or two-pieced artefacts with or without pierced holes were interpreted as flutes. Their suitability for sound production, however, has never been studied systematically.

In this article, we will discuss the presence and function of the different tubular bone artefacts found in grave 62. We will describe the finds, sort them tentatively and report possible ethnographical parallels. The article is intended as an introduction to the research project, which seeks to analyze the organological structures of the artefacts and reassess their interpretation as musical instruments. The find contexts of the artefacts, as well as, the grave entity with all other artefacts, will be studied from the perspective of music archaeology.