THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE INCAS. ii 



projection perforated for suspension. When struck with any 

 hard substance, they give out a remarkably clear and resonant 

 sound. One of these is shown as fig. 12 of Plate II. It is three 

 and seven-eighths inches in diameter. Ewbank, describing Seiior 

 Barboza's collection of Peruvian antiquities, figures three of 

 these objects, two of which he states are of copper and one of 

 bronze. He says: "I took them for mirrors; but they do not 

 seem to have been polished." ' None of the three in the Mu- 

 seum shows any indication, on either side, of having been polished, 

 and there seems to be no reason to doubt that they were used 

 as gongs or bells. 



( )f the various forms of rattles it is hardly necessary to speak 

 in detail. They consisted of small shells and nuts, seeds of a 

 species of laurel tree, etc., and were often strung 

 together. (See Plate II, fig. 8 and Plate III, figs. 5, 



7, 8.) These were attached to the wrists, ankles and ^ , , 

 ' Cymbal 



other parts of the body in dancing. A common form of 



rattle was a gourd containing seeds or pebbles. The use of shells 



as paint cups or palettes was very common, as is attested by 



numerous specimens, which still contain paint, found in graves; 



but their use as musical instruments in ancient Peru, has not 



been noticed before. Figs. 5 and 6 of Plate II represent water 



vessels of terra cotta, decorated with figures striking shells 



together, as cymbals are played. The "cymbals" are so well 



modeled that there can be no doubt that they represent Spon- 



dylus (Spoudylus pictorum, Chem.) shells. (See Plate II, fig. 11). 



WIXD INSTRUMENTS. 



Long before the conquest the Peruvians had emerged from 

 the first or drum stage, and reached the second, which C. K. 

 Wead defines as that "having instruments mechan- . 

 icallv capable of furnishing a scale" ' — a tremendous 

 stride in the art. The most important instruments of 

 this class are the syrinx or Pan-pipe (Iniayra piihnra) and the 

 flutes of bone and cane. Fig. 7 of Plate IV shows a syrinx 



' Lifi.' in Brazil. Appendix, p. 454. 



' Conlrib. to the Hist, of Musical Scales, Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1900, p. 421. 



