Ancient soundscapes of the Tapajonic and Marajoara Peoples: an approach bridging Archaeomusicology and Ethnomusicology in the collections of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Museu Nacional and Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia at the Universidade de São Paulo

Abstract

This article aims to present the organological characteristics and the prominence of aerophones and idiophones in the archaeological collections of the Marajoara and Tapajonic peoples at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, the Museu Nacional, and the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia at the Universidade de São Paulo. The article also offers reflections on the agency and intentionality of sound and music in ritual contexts and their connections with the sonic traces of these societies, grounded in ethnomusicological research on the music of indigenous peoples of the Lowlands of South America. Finally, the paper discusses aspects of sound production, texture, and organological considerations of the instruments.