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Sound Tracks

An Archaeological Journey Through Our Musical Past

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Sound Tracks

Written by: Graeme Lawson
Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
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A breathtaking archaeological journey that illuminates the unsung role of music and sound in shaping human civilization

What if you could hear the history of the world through a bronze bell buried deep in the ground? Or a fine, old terra-cotta pot? Or a long, hollow strip of a mammoth's tusk?

In Sound Tracks, Graeme Lawson explores our rich and ancient history of music-making through sixty musical objects and the thrilling accounts of the archaeological digs in which they were discovered. We stumble upon a German harmonica found on a 19th century American battlefield, a 1,300-year-old Peruvian flask designed to warble like a bird, a Stone Age flute calcified within the unlikely depths of a cave in Southwestern France—all the while unearthing the vibrant worlds of the people that once made music and meaning with them.

One of the world’s foremost archaeologists, Lawson leaves no stone unturned, ushering the reader from the present day all the way back to the dawn of time, revealing music’s role as an essential medium through which we commemorate our histories, form our identities, and communicate our dreams for the future. Expansive in its scope and brimming with lively, unforgettable insights, Sound Tracks lends an ear to an unheard past, offering an exhilarating new portrait of music as an ancient and magical force. Archaeology History & Criticism Music
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Critic Reviews

“A single melody may quickly fade away, but the millennia-long history of human music has been preserved through instruments buried deep in the earth. In Sound Tracks, archeologist Graeme Lawson excavates the remarkable stories of their discovery and offers a fascinating guide to music’s fossil record. Blending vast expertise with a keen sense of wonder, he cups an ear to distant civilizations and reveals just how much we may still be able to hear.”
—Jeremy Eichler, author of Time’s Echo

“In Sound Tracks, Graeme Lawson is a literary Pied Piper who takes us from the frozen Siberian tundra to the dry coast of Peru on an utterly mesmerizing journey into our musical past. Follow him, and you will never hear that latest pop hit in quite the same way. Lawson resurrects the myriad ways we humans turn dead objects into magical instruments, upsetting fusty old ideas about our long and intimate relationship to sound. This elegantly written and wonderfully erudite work is a lyrical tour de force.”
—Andrew Lawler, author of Under Jerusalem

"Lawson’s individual portraits are colorful and fascinating, revealing in detail the surprising sophistication of some of the world’s oldest instruments. Archaeologists and music lovers will savor this."
—Publishers Weekly

"Lawson offers a catalog of notable discoveries in musical archaeology. . . . An expert overview of our musical roots.”
—Kirkus
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