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Analyzing Primary Sources: Travels of the Lute The following activity is suitable for senior secondary school courses in history or music. Created by Laura Walkling, candidate in the Master of Teaching program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Description of the Activity Students compare primary sources (historical artifacts) in different media that depict the presence of the lute within various civilizations. They assess similarities and differences between the representations of the lute within the primary sources to understand how historians learn about the past. Suitable Grade Levels and Subjects

• Grades 11-12 • History, Music

Learning Objectives

• Content – Musical instruments; trade routes; social structures and customs; ancient civilizations; How historians learn about the past

• Students will understand the importance of primary sources in historical research • Students will develop critical insight of the origins of the lute through the analysis of

primary sources • Students will understand the interconnections between ancient civilizations (trade, social

structures, religious practices) through the analysis of primary sources Background Preparation for the Teacher

• Examine the primary sources (the artifacts) and the historical details pertaining to each provided in the slideshow.

• Watch the video, Travels of the Lute, to become familiar with the connections between the primary sources and this video.

Necessary Materials

• One copy per student of the “Analysis of Artifacts” worksheet included in this lesson • Copies of the artifacts (links are provided under “Resources” at the end of this document) • Blackboard or whiteboard • Projector • Pencils or pens • A map of the world (optional but helpful)

Step I: Analysis of the Artifacts The students analyze artifacts that range in date (3500 BCE - 1600 CE) and place (Mesopotamia, Iraq, Egypt, China, Scotland, and England).

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1. Divide the class into groups. Provide each group with two artifacts (images of the artifacts can be found in the “Artifacts” section of this lesson plan). Most, if not all, of the artifacts should be distributed amongst the class. Ensure that all labels and titles have been removed from the artifacts before distributing them. 2. In their groups, have students examine and analyze the artifacts by answering the questions on the worksheet provided. Students will not be able to answer all of the questions on the worksheet. This was done intentionally. 3. Take up the worksheet as a class. Have groups share their results:

• Which of the artifacts did their group analyze? • What questions were they able to answer? • What questions did their group find difficult to answer? Why? • What do they think the purpose was of the two artifacts they analyzed?

Step II: Watch Travels of the Lute Students watch and discuss a video on the Travels of the Lute that provides historical context for the artifacts they have been analyzing. 1. Watch a clip from the Travels of the Lute video. Watch from the beginning and stop when the discussion turns to the discussion of the Sarod, around roughly 17:09. The link to the clip is provided in the “Resources” section of this lesson plan. 2. Review the main points of the movie using the following questions as a guide for discussion. If a map is available, plot out the travels of the oud.

• What is an oud? A musical instrument that originates from the Arabian peninsula • Where did the oud originate? Most likely from Mesopotamia. Evidence of the oud has

been found in Uruk (Ur), dating from 3500 BCE. Uruk was in the southern regions of Mesopotamia, current day Iraq. They found the same shape of the oud in Uruk as they found in Egypt from the 18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE).

• Where did the oud travel to? The oud originates from Uruk, Mesopotamia in 3500 BCE (southern part of what is now Iraq). It was found in Egypt during the 18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE). The oud was developed in Hijaz (what is now part of Saudi Arabia) during the pre-Islamic period (1-400 CE). During the Islamic period which starts in 630 CE, musicians settled in the northern part of the peninsula (what is now Iraq). From Iraq the Oud spread through the Silk Road to China through Persia and India. The oud also travels to Spain around 700 CE. The oud then becomes popular during the Renaissance (1400-1600 CE).

• What is the connection between the oud and the lute? The lute arrived in Europe with the Moorish invasion and occupation of what is now Spain. The lute becomes popular during the Renaissance (1400-1600) when Europeans thought they were imitating the ancient Greeks and Romans. Though the actual historical pedigree of the instrument is Arabic, they thought of it as being associated with the Greek lyre.

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3. Ask students what connections exist between the video clip and the artifacts. Prompting questions for this step are: What do all of the artifacts have in common? What type of instrument is present in all of the artifacts? Considering all the places the oud has traveled to, where do these artifacts come from? Step IV: Rethinking the Analysis of the Artifacts The students analyze and discuss the information and messages the artifacts convey about the oud, social practices, and the characteristics of a civilization more broadly. 1. Reveal the historical details of each primary source by going through the slideshow with the class. Museum descriptions of each artifact are provided in the notes section of the slideshow. If there is a map in the room plot the date and location of each artifact to provide a visual understanding of how these artifacts are connected. 2. Discuss their initial analysis of the artifacts in comparison with the historical details they have just learned about the artifacts. Listed below are possible areas of discussion:

• What historical details were they surprised by about the artifacts? • What do the artifacts have in common? How are they different from one another? • What does the presence of musicians reveal about a civilization? (The production of

musical instruments requires craftsman and thus the civilization is agrarian and is specialized)

• How is music portrayed differently in the artifacts? What does this suggest about social practices in these different societies?

• What do the artifacts tell us about the role of music within society? • If all of these different civilizations have musicians and have similar musical instruments

what does this suggest? (Do not exist in isolation from one another. The trade of goods, ideas and customs is occurring between them. This calls into question the idea of “progress” and of ancient civilizations as less civilized than current day.)

Step V: Concluding Thoughts Students reflect on the experience of analyzing the artifacts and the purpose of this lesson. 1. Ask students to reflect on what it was like to analyze the artifacts, to act as historians do. What did they learn from this activity? What did they find interesting? 2. Restate the objectives of the lesson so that students are left with a clear understanding of what the purpose was behind this lesson.

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Artifacts

Plaque

©Trustees of the British Museum

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Terracotta bottle in the shape of a female lute player

© Trustees of the British Museum

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Plate with banquet scene

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Musician dunhuang

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Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, Volume III

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Portrait of Elizabeth I of England playing the lute

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Analysis of the Artifacts Instructions: Fill in as much of the chart as you can. Some of the information will be obvious, but other information will require careful searching and perhaps interpretation. Some information may not be given at all; simply note “unknown” in such a case. Artifact 1

Artifact 2

Object type: Is it a sculpture, mosaic, spoon?

Materials: What is it made out of? Glass, wood, ceramic?

Date: When was it made? I500 BCE? 700-900 CE?

Location: Where do you think it came from?

Author: Who made the piece?

Description: Describe what you see and/or what the image contains.

Purpose: What do you think is the purpose of the artifact? What was it used for? Why was it created?

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Answer Key * This answer key does not contain historically accurate answers. Rather, the chart is filled with the type of information students will be able to fill in with the image (no labels, titles or descriptions) they have been provided with of the artifacts.

Plaque Terracotta bottle in the shape of a female lute

player

Plate with banquet

scene

Musician dunhuang

Accounts of the Lord

High Treasurer

of Scotland, Volume III

Portrait of

Elizabeth I of

England playing the lute

Object type: Is it a sculpture, mosaic, spoon?

Maybe a tablet

Figurine, statue

Plaque Painting Financial records

Painting

Materials: What is it made out of? Glass, wood, ceramic?

Looks like stone

Looks like wood

Looks like gold

Some kind of paint

Paper and ink

Some kind of paint

Date: When was it made? I500 BCE? 700-900 CE?

Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 1506 The image does not list a date but based on the clothing they may be able to guess

Location: Where do you think it came from?

Unknown They may know it is from Egypt because of familiarity with Ancient Egypt

Middle East

East Asia It says Edinburgh, so it comes from Scotland

They may guess Europe because of the clothing

Author: Who made the piece?

Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown – an accountant of some sort

Unknown – a painter

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Description: Describe what you see and/or what the image contains.

Shows a profile of one person, possibly a man, playing an instrument that looks like a guitar; there is some sort of table/structure beside him that appears to sit on two legs; there is something on top of the structure but not sure what it is; the images on the stone appear to be popping out of the stone; the stone seems old, pieces have chipped off, it is worn/ weathered.

A woman standing upright holding a musical instrument that she appears to be plucking; the object seems to be freestanding because of the base at the bottom; the object looks smooth; there is black detailing on the hair, facial features, instrument, and arms; on top of her head is some type of object, maybe a hat, not sure.

Circular flat object; shows a scene of a ruler being served, waited upon, and entertained. There are several musicians; one is playing an instrument that looks like a guitar

Painting of four people playing musical instruments; they are playing together as a group; one is playing an instrument like the guitar; they are dressed in flowing robes and are wearing necklaces and bracelets; the painting is colourful; this seems to be only one a part of a larger the image because the fourth musician is cut off

A page that records spending; it is a list of who was paid and for what followed by the amount in roman numerals; a King is referred to several times (“Item to Rankin Haggoun, be the Kingis command”); for some of the entries it even lists the day the transaction occurred; A lot of musicians are paid – taubronars, lutars, harpars, clarscha, fithelars, and pipars

Oval shaped portrait; it shows a woman sitting on a chair which seems to be a throne because of the crown-like object sitting on one of the armrests; the lady in the portrait is wearing black clothing which suggests wealth; she is holding what looks like a guitar

Purpose: What do you think is the purpose of the artifact? What was it used for? Why was it created?

The answer to this question will vary because it requires interpretation of the observations they have made. There is no set answer to the question of “purpose” without further historical research. Thus, for this question each group is being asked to guess, to come to a logical conclusion based on the observations they have made. It would be great to focus in on this question during the take-up of this worksheet to challenge them on their interpretations and to encourage them to defend their stance. Have students self-reflect on how they came to certain conclusions and become conscious of their positioning in relation to the past.

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Resources Plaque: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=389724&partId=1&searchText=lute Terracotta bottle in the shape of a female lute player: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/t/terracotta_bottle_in_the_shape.aspx Plate with banquet scene: http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/AllResults?bskeyword=plate%20with%20banquet%20scene&bssearch=7,0,0,0,0,1 Musician dunhuang: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Musician_dunhuang.jpg http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/c/the_cave-temples_at_dunhuang.aspx http://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/field_projects/mogao/ Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland: http://archive.org/stream/accountsoflordhi03scot#page/n9/mode/2up Portrait of Elizabeth I of England playing the lute: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicholas_Hilliard_Elizabeth_I_Playing_the_Lute_c._1580.jpg http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp07108/nicholas-hilliard Travels of the Lute video: The Travels of the Lute site

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Please cite this resource as: Walkling, Laura. “Analyzing Primary sources: Travels of the Lute.”, from Travels of the Lute: A

Digital Humanities Resource for Teaching and Learning World History, directed by Mairi Cowan and Elaine Goettler. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2014.