Sounds of Childhood in the Ancient World

Abstract

This article analyses evidence from material culture related to the musical and sonic experiences of children in antiquity This world consisted of sound toys and musical games, which took place both inside and outside the house, revealing the playful aspect of the first steps into education through sound and music. As personal objects and identity markers of childhood, sound toys and musical instruments were not only indicators of the social role to be fulfilled through several activities and games, but also of social hierarchy, gender, and age, which it is possible to infer from the sacred and funerary contexts of their discovery. Thanks to an archaeomusicological approach in the study of instruments and sound objects, this article aims to survey the relationship between sound and music and the plot of symbolic meanings related to infancy in antiquity.