Iain Morley
Dr Iain Morley is an archaeologist and palaeoanthropologist, and is Academic Coordinator of the School of Anthropology, University of Oxford. He oversees the operation of all the taught undergraduate and graduate degrees within the School, in Anthropology and Human Sciences. He was previously lecturer and tutor in Palaeoanthropology, teaching human evolution and Palaeolithic archaeology, and Degree Director of the MSc in Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology.
His research interests focus particularly on the Palaeolithic archaeology and evolutionary origins of musical, ritual and religious behaviours. He has also excavated at prehistoric and classical archaeology sites in Britain, Croatia, Czechia, Libya, Italy and Greece.
He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and a Member of the Prehistoric Society.
POSITIONS HELD
2015-present: Academic Coordinator of the School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography
2010-2015:
Lecturer in Palaeoanthropology and Human Sciences, University of Oxford.
Fellow of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford; Tutor in Human Sciences and Archaeology & Anthropology.
2009-2010:
Fellow and Tutor in Archaeology & Anthropology, Keble College, Oxford.
2008-2009:
Hunt Fellow of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.
2005-2009:
Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge.
2005-2009:
Research Fellow, Darwin College, Cambridge.
2008:
Post-excavation publication writer, Cambridge Archaeological Unit.
2004:
Field archaeologist, Cambridge Archaeological Unit.
His research interests focus particularly on the Palaeolithic archaeology and evolutionary origins of musical, ritual and religious behaviours. He has also excavated at prehistoric and classical archaeology sites in Britain, Croatia, Czechia, Libya, Italy and Greece.
He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and a Member of the Prehistoric Society.
POSITIONS HELD
2015-present: Academic Coordinator of the School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography
2010-2015:
Lecturer in Palaeoanthropology and Human Sciences, University of Oxford.
Fellow of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford; Tutor in Human Sciences and Archaeology & Anthropology.
2009-2010:
Fellow and Tutor in Archaeology & Anthropology, Keble College, Oxford.
2008-2009:
Hunt Fellow of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.
2005-2009:
Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge.
2005-2009:
Research Fellow, Darwin College, Cambridge.
2008:
Post-excavation publication writer, Cambridge Archaeological Unit.
2004:
Field archaeologist, Cambridge Archaeological Unit.
less
InterestsView All (18)
Uploads
Music has been the subject of keen investigation in many fields, from neuroscience and psychology to ethnography, archaeology, and its own dedicated field, musicology. Despite the great contributions that these studies have made, much remains mysterious about this ubiquitous human phenomenon - not least, its origins.
In a ground-breaking study, this volume brings together evidence from all these fields, and more, in investigating the evolutionary origins of our musical abilities, the nature of music, and the earliest archaeological evidence for musical activities amongst our ancestors.
Seeking to understand the true relationship between our unique musical capabilities and the development of the remarkable social, emotional, and communicative abilities of our species, it will be essential reading for anyone interested in music and human physical and cultural evolution."
Featuring contributions by Susan Alcock (archaeology), Andy Fabian (astronomy), Sir Richard Friend (physics and engineering), Richard Leakey (palaeoanthropology and human evolution), Oliver Letwin (politics), Simon Singh (cosmology), Robin Weiss (biology), Simon Winchester (writing).
This research examines the evidence for the emergence of the capacities underlying musical behaviours, their interrelationship, development and ultimate manifestation in the Palaeolithic. A multidisciplinary approach is taken, and the dissertation falls into four main sections.
Section I reviews and analyses ethnographic evidence regarding the use of music in four hunter-gatherer societies. It highlights a number of fundamental similarities between their musics, suggesting shared heritage or convergent development. In these traditions melody is predominantly vocal; instruments are primarily percussive, made of organic materials, and thus unlikely to leave an archaeological trace.
Section II comprises a comprehensive synthesis of the archaeological evidence for use of musical instruments in the Palaeolithic. The earliest currently known instruments date to c. 36,000 years ago; the evidence suggests that when modern humans arrived in Europe they were already carrying out developed instrumental behaviours. The diversity of evidence occurring after 30,000 years ago suggests that musical performance, or at least appreciation, was a group activity, rather than one involving a select few.
Section III examines the physiological and neurological apparatus involved in the production and processing of musical functions, and their evolution. From Homo ergaster there was co-evolution of various physiological and neurological capacities necessary to carry out vocalizations of increasing tonal range and duration. “Higher” analytical musical and linguistic functions emerged out of shared substrates concerned with vocal emotional expression and comprehension.
Section IV analyses the evolutionary bases for musical capacities and their integration. It shows that music, emotional expression and social behaviours, rhythmic and melodic abilities are fundamentally connected and share a heritage with linguistic prosody and corporeal control. Developed skills in these areas have potential selective benefits.
A synthesis of the findings from these various disciplines and sources of evidence concludes the thesis, proposing that musical capacities have their foundations in inter-specific tonal emotional vocal expression, and rhythmic-motor coordination of corporeal musculature in the execution of such vocalisations. These increased in complexity throughout the Homo lineage, and diverged from linguistic capacities with the development of lexicon and syntax; symbolic associations and diversity occurred with Homo sapiens, who were carrying out sophisticated instrumental musical behaviours upon their arrival in Europe.
neural underpinnings, they have revealed little about the broader significance of music for individuals, peer groups and communities. This review presents a sampling of musical forms and coordinated musical activity across cultures, with the aim of highlighting key similarities and differences. The focus is
on scholarly and everyday ideas about music—what it is and where it originates—as well the antiquity of music and the contribution of musical behaviour to ritual activity, social organization, caregiving and group cohesion. Synchronous arousal, action synchrony and imitative behaviours are
among the means by which music facilitates social bonding. The commonalities and differences in musical forms and functions across cultures suggest new directions for ethnomusicology, music cognition and neuroscience, and
a pivot away from the predominant scientific focus on instrumental music in the Western European tradition.
learning, without which there can be no human singing. Fourth, entrainment with perfect synchrony, without which there is neither rhythmic ensemble music nor rhythmic dancing to music. And fifth, the universal propensity of humans to gather occasionally to sing and dance together in a group, which
suggests a motivational basis endemic to our biology. We end by considering the evolutionary context within which these constraints had to be met in the genesis of human musicality.
It is increasingly clear that human musical abilities are fundamentally related to other important human abilities, yet much remains mysterious about this ubiquitous human phenomenon, not least its prehistoric origins. It is evident that no single field of investigation can address the wide range of issues relevant
to answering the question of music’s origins. This review brings together evidence from a wide range of anthropological and human sciences, including palaeoanthropology, archaeology, neuroscience, primatology and developmental psychology, in an attempt to elucidate the nature of the foundations of music, how they have evolved, and how they are related to capabilities underlying other important human behaviours.
It is proposed that at their most fundamental level musical behaviours (including both vocalisation and dance) are forms of deliberate metrically-organised gesture, and constitute a specialised use of systems dedicated to the expression and comprehension of social and emotional information between individuals. The abilities underlying these behaviours are selectively advantageous themselves; in addition, various mechanisms by which the practice of musical activities themselves could be advantageous are outlined.
"
Whilst it is hoped that the concepts discussed and terms used might be useful in wider considerations of measurement, the chapter is written keeping in mind the nature and implications of the types of measurement activity that are likely to have been important in the context of hunter-gatherer subsistence, especially concepts of time, cycles and distance.
In particular, this chapter seeks to highlight the fact that a great many of the activities that were carried out by past societies would have involved quantification in some form. In order to explore fully the use of measurement of the world and beyond in past societies we must explore the implications of the activities for which we do have archaeological evidence, in addition to looking for direct evidence of quantification.
'Communicative Musicality' explores the intrinsic musical nature of human interaction. The theory of communicative musicality was developed from groundbreaking studies showing how in mother/infant communication there exist noticeable patterns of timing, pulse, voice timbre, and gesture. Without intending to, the exchange between a mother and her infant follow many of the rules of musical performance, including rhythm and timing. This is the first book to be devoted to this topic. In a collection of cutting-edge chapters, encompassing brain science, human evolution, psychology, acoustics and music performance, it focuses on the rhythm and sympathy of musical expression in human communication from infancy. It demonstrates how speaking and moving in rhythmic musical ways is the essential foundation for all forms of communication, even the most refined and technically elaborated, just as it is for parenting, good teaching, creative work in the arts, and therapy to help handicapped or emotionally distressed persons. A landmark in the literature, 'Communicative Musicality' is a valuable text for all those in the fields of developmental, educational, and music psychology, as well as those in the field of music therapy. "
Music has been the subject of keen investigation in many fields, from neuroscience and psychology to ethnography, archaeology, and its own dedicated field, musicology. Despite the great contributions that these studies have made, much remains mysterious about this ubiquitous human phenomenon - not least, its origins.
In a ground-breaking study, this volume brings together evidence from all these fields, and more, in investigating the evolutionary origins of our musical abilities, the nature of music, and the earliest archaeological evidence for musical activities amongst our ancestors.
Seeking to understand the true relationship between our unique musical capabilities and the development of the remarkable social, emotional, and communicative abilities of our species, it will be essential reading for anyone interested in music and human physical and cultural evolution."
Featuring contributions by Susan Alcock (archaeology), Andy Fabian (astronomy), Sir Richard Friend (physics and engineering), Richard Leakey (palaeoanthropology and human evolution), Oliver Letwin (politics), Simon Singh (cosmology), Robin Weiss (biology), Simon Winchester (writing).
This research examines the evidence for the emergence of the capacities underlying musical behaviours, their interrelationship, development and ultimate manifestation in the Palaeolithic. A multidisciplinary approach is taken, and the dissertation falls into four main sections.
Section I reviews and analyses ethnographic evidence regarding the use of music in four hunter-gatherer societies. It highlights a number of fundamental similarities between their musics, suggesting shared heritage or convergent development. In these traditions melody is predominantly vocal; instruments are primarily percussive, made of organic materials, and thus unlikely to leave an archaeological trace.
Section II comprises a comprehensive synthesis of the archaeological evidence for use of musical instruments in the Palaeolithic. The earliest currently known instruments date to c. 36,000 years ago; the evidence suggests that when modern humans arrived in Europe they were already carrying out developed instrumental behaviours. The diversity of evidence occurring after 30,000 years ago suggests that musical performance, or at least appreciation, was a group activity, rather than one involving a select few.
Section III examines the physiological and neurological apparatus involved in the production and processing of musical functions, and their evolution. From Homo ergaster there was co-evolution of various physiological and neurological capacities necessary to carry out vocalizations of increasing tonal range and duration. “Higher” analytical musical and linguistic functions emerged out of shared substrates concerned with vocal emotional expression and comprehension.
Section IV analyses the evolutionary bases for musical capacities and their integration. It shows that music, emotional expression and social behaviours, rhythmic and melodic abilities are fundamentally connected and share a heritage with linguistic prosody and corporeal control. Developed skills in these areas have potential selective benefits.
A synthesis of the findings from these various disciplines and sources of evidence concludes the thesis, proposing that musical capacities have their foundations in inter-specific tonal emotional vocal expression, and rhythmic-motor coordination of corporeal musculature in the execution of such vocalisations. These increased in complexity throughout the Homo lineage, and diverged from linguistic capacities with the development of lexicon and syntax; symbolic associations and diversity occurred with Homo sapiens, who were carrying out sophisticated instrumental musical behaviours upon their arrival in Europe.
neural underpinnings, they have revealed little about the broader significance of music for individuals, peer groups and communities. This review presents a sampling of musical forms and coordinated musical activity across cultures, with the aim of highlighting key similarities and differences. The focus is
on scholarly and everyday ideas about music—what it is and where it originates—as well the antiquity of music and the contribution of musical behaviour to ritual activity, social organization, caregiving and group cohesion. Synchronous arousal, action synchrony and imitative behaviours are
among the means by which music facilitates social bonding. The commonalities and differences in musical forms and functions across cultures suggest new directions for ethnomusicology, music cognition and neuroscience, and
a pivot away from the predominant scientific focus on instrumental music in the Western European tradition.
learning, without which there can be no human singing. Fourth, entrainment with perfect synchrony, without which there is neither rhythmic ensemble music nor rhythmic dancing to music. And fifth, the universal propensity of humans to gather occasionally to sing and dance together in a group, which
suggests a motivational basis endemic to our biology. We end by considering the evolutionary context within which these constraints had to be met in the genesis of human musicality.
It is increasingly clear that human musical abilities are fundamentally related to other important human abilities, yet much remains mysterious about this ubiquitous human phenomenon, not least its prehistoric origins. It is evident that no single field of investigation can address the wide range of issues relevant
to answering the question of music’s origins. This review brings together evidence from a wide range of anthropological and human sciences, including palaeoanthropology, archaeology, neuroscience, primatology and developmental psychology, in an attempt to elucidate the nature of the foundations of music, how they have evolved, and how they are related to capabilities underlying other important human behaviours.
It is proposed that at their most fundamental level musical behaviours (including both vocalisation and dance) are forms of deliberate metrically-organised gesture, and constitute a specialised use of systems dedicated to the expression and comprehension of social and emotional information between individuals. The abilities underlying these behaviours are selectively advantageous themselves; in addition, various mechanisms by which the practice of musical activities themselves could be advantageous are outlined.
"
Whilst it is hoped that the concepts discussed and terms used might be useful in wider considerations of measurement, the chapter is written keeping in mind the nature and implications of the types of measurement activity that are likely to have been important in the context of hunter-gatherer subsistence, especially concepts of time, cycles and distance.
In particular, this chapter seeks to highlight the fact that a great many of the activities that were carried out by past societies would have involved quantification in some form. In order to explore fully the use of measurement of the world and beyond in past societies we must explore the implications of the activities for which we do have archaeological evidence, in addition to looking for direct evidence of quantification.
'Communicative Musicality' explores the intrinsic musical nature of human interaction. The theory of communicative musicality was developed from groundbreaking studies showing how in mother/infant communication there exist noticeable patterns of timing, pulse, voice timbre, and gesture. Without intending to, the exchange between a mother and her infant follow many of the rules of musical performance, including rhythm and timing. This is the first book to be devoted to this topic. In a collection of cutting-edge chapters, encompassing brain science, human evolution, psychology, acoustics and music performance, it focuses on the rhythm and sympathy of musical expression in human communication from infancy. It demonstrates how speaking and moving in rhythmic musical ways is the essential foundation for all forms of communication, even the most refined and technically elaborated, just as it is for parenting, good teaching, creative work in the arts, and therapy to help handicapped or emotionally distressed persons. A landmark in the literature, 'Communicative Musicality' is a valuable text for all those in the fields of developmental, educational, and music psychology, as well as those in the field of music therapy. "
The dawn of art is sometimes equated with the birth of the human spirit. But when and how did figuration - sculpture, painting, drawing - actually begin? And did these first figurative creations coincide with the emergence of our own species, Homo sapiens? Is figuration a general and fundamental feature of the human condition? In this challenging volume leading experts review the evidence now available from the worldwide practice of prehistoric archaeology, and go on to formulate some important conclusions. The scope of this work is global. It sets out to explore the first stirrings of artistic endeavour and of figurative imagery on each continent, and to consider the social context in which they arose.
Archaeology helps us to comprehend the vast history of humankind by sifting through the remains of earlier cultures and civilizations. Written by an international team of archaeologists, historians, and cultural anthropologists, Archaeologica delves into this thrilling realm, taking readers on a unique journey into antiquity. The first part of the book introduces the history and science of archaeology, from the first chroniclers of earlier peoples to the use of techniques such as satellite imagery, DNA analysis and three-dimensional computer simulations. The second section details the compelling history of over 150 sites from more than 50 countries. Archaeologica is illustrated with more than 550 images – including historical photos, scenic site shots, and pictures of key artefacts – as well as over 20 detailed regional maps and 150 locator maps.
This paper examines in detail the full body of literature and research regarding this object, and finds that much of the ambiguity regarding the object’s status derives from the literature itself. It ultimately concludes that it is not necessary to invoke hominin agency in explaining the features of the bone.
by four groups of modern hunter-gatherers from around the world, and the nature of the musical activities in which they are employed. Legitimate parallels to past auditory behaviours
can be based on the pattern of shared constraints; the tools and materials available to these peoples for instrument manufacture often resemble those available to past human
groups. Attention is drawn to the diversities and similarities of musical behaviours and instrumentation, and the chapter highlights some of the implications that these hold for the use of acoustical space in the past.