Experiencing Ancient Mesopotamian Music and Cuisine for the First Time

By: Kaitlynn Anderson, ASOR Digital Media Specialist

Experiencing the Music

It’s rare that I get an opportunity to experience anything “ancient.” The closest I’ve come is walking the Freedom Trail in Boston, and that’s far from ancient. So, when I heard that the Harvard Semitic Museum was hosting an event on ancient Mesopotamian music and cuisine, I was all in. Not only would I get to learn about the past, I’d get to try new food and listen to music.

The evening began with a lecture sprinkled with musical samples. Going into the lecture, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I mean, the most “ancient” music I’ve listened to are the classics like Mozart or Bach. The lecture was a lot like being back in college, but without the pressure of looming exams. The speakers, Richard Dumbrill (Director of ICONEA at the Institute of Musical Research, School of Advanced Studies, University of London, and Professor of Archaeomusicology, University of Babylon) and Irving Finkel (Assistant Keeper, The British Museum), had a playful air about them. It was easy to see that they knew a lot and were passionate about this topic. Dumbrill had a cheery pleasantness that reminded me of actor Jim Broadbent, and Finkel was what I would imagine Dumbledore would be like if he laughed and told more jokes. But I digress.

We listened to recordings, video clips, and even a small live presentation of ancient Mesopotamian music, which represented the current theory and interpretation of early compositions recorded in cuneiform script on clay tablets. Though, as you probably know, these clay tablets are nothing like the sheet music musicians use today. How did scribes write down music? The common belief is that they relied on describing the instrument. Meaning the first note/string that is mentioned on the tablet, is literally the first string played.

[For more information check out, “Music in Ancient Mesopotamia,” by Uri Gabbay.]

The speakers reminded us that every recording or attempt at interpreting the music on the tablets reflects the time of the musician interpreting it. Given that, I can’t be sure if my analysis says more about the music of ancient Mesopotamia, or the person who interpreted it. To me, some of the samples of Mesopotamian music we heard reminded me of a mix between a sad song and a horror movie soundtrack.

The music was played using reconstructed instruments based on sculptures and images from ancient tablets. The speakers took a couple minutes to explain how these instruments were built and their fragility. This raised the question, “How do we know the instruments were reconstructed properly?” I know whenever I draw or sculpt (rare, but I can have creative streaks) I rarely do anything perfectly to scale. So how do they know that the spacing between the grooves, or length of the neck, or shape of the body of these instruments is accurate? Wouldn’t these details drastically affect the sound of the instrument? I asked Dumbrill these questions during the reception that followed, and he told me that we would know if the instruments were wrong because the musical scale would be off. To be honest, I was not completely satisfied with that answer, but he’s the expert, so I’m inclined to trust him. Also, as he mentioned before, it’s all theory right now.

Just before the reception, there was a short response to the lecture by Piotr Michalowski (University of Michigan — Ann Arbor). He talked about the relationship between math and the translation of the few musical tablets we have to study. Like Dumbrill, he believes math is important to understanding the music, but says the current interpretations would only be relatable to string instruments, leaving out other types like woodwind instruments. He also mentioned that it was likely that music varied greatly in Mesopotamia, much like in Ancient Greece, where street music sounded vastly different than music played by professional musicians. Michalowski discussed the musical tablets being in different languages, and how he doesn’t believe there is evidence that music was taught in schools or anywhere else. He said, if anything, people practiced in their homes. It is because of these reasons that he says he is against trying to perform the music, because he doesn’t believe the music performed on these instruments has very much to do with the kind of textual data we have to study.

Experiencing the Cuisine

Much like with the music performance, I wasn’t sure what to expect when entering the gallery where the cuisine was being served. Part of me expected the food to be bland or boring, but it was far from it. I was beyond pleasantly surprised, and I wasn’t the only one. The event attendees had a wide range of interests and backgrounds. A few of the people I talked to included a German chemist, a Chilean psychologist and her husband, and a lot of students, all of whom raved about how good the food and lecture were. Some of the students were encouraged to go to the event by professors, and others had a genuine interest in ancient Mesopotamian culture. One attendee I spoke with remarked on her surprise that people 2,000 years ago ate such flavorful and sweet dishes. There was also a lot of chatter about how healthy and clean the dishes were.

Our meals were prepared by the Middle East Restaurant and ZuZu Restaurant, both in Cambridge, MA. The recipes were provided by independent Iraqi scholar and author, Nawal Nasrallah. Pictured below is a little of each dish served at the reception.

As I discussed the food with other attendees, the question of ingredients kept coming up. It was hard to believe that the food didn’t have any added ingredients, or that the chefs didn’t need to deviate from the recipe. I was able to ask the chefs from the Middle East Restaurant if they had any trouble finding all the ancient ingredients or if they had to substitute anything or stray from the recipes. They joyfully told me that they followed the recipes exactly, and even let me look at the recipes they used. When asked a similar question later in the evening, Nasrallah smiled and said, “Cumin is still cumin.”

My favorite part of the meal was the lamb with apricots and black-eyed beans (number 5), savory with just enough of a sweet aftertaste. My least favorite, though still good, was the dessert — I’m more of a savory person. It was definitely popular amongst other attendees, though.

All in all, the entire evening was enjoyable and engaging. I look forward to going to future events at the Semitic Museum. I would encourage anyone to take a look at events around your city or town and experience something new. Prior to the event, my Mesopotamia knowledge was limited to things learned from movies, or while lost in a wikihole. I never studied Mesopotamian culture in school, nor had several other attendees. It’s definitely something I’ll never forget, and I’ll be trying a few of the recipes at home.

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