The BA Thesis describes the research regarding past forms of music and its cultural and biological significance. The introduction contains the presentation of the field of Archaeology, which deals with material remains of past musical behaviour and its origin. The suggested methodology and a brief presentation of the history of researching the origins of musical behaviour will be presented here. The thesis will continue with the listing of key anatomical features and cognitive abilities that enable us to comprehend and produce music. The development of the human vocal apparatus and auditory systems will be presented in this section, alongside the neurology responsible for perception of music. For the end of the evolutionary part of the graduation thesis, the potential role of music in the concept of evolution will be presented. The most extensive part of the thesis will be dedicated to music in the context of the Stone Age. The first pages will begin with a short presentation of Paleolithic art and continue describing the circumstances for the appearance of proto- music. The different types of musical artefacts and the supposed role of Paleolithic music will be described here. The extent and evidence of Neanderthal musical behaviour, like the find from the cave site Divje babe I, will also be presented. The main part of the thesis will be concluded with the description of music during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.
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