🏺 Archaeology and living tradition
History of the jaw harp
From the bone jaw harps of Shimao and medieval European finds to today’s makers and players.
Four thousand years of documented history
The jaw harp belongs to one of the world’s most widely distributed families of lamellaphones. Archaeological finds, historical images and living traditions trace its long journey across Asia, Europe and other continents.
The oldest substantial assemblage that is securely dated today comes from the Shimao site in China’s Shaanxi province. “Koxian” is not the name of the site: the Chinese word kouxian refers to the mouth-resonated lamellaphone itself.
Evidence-based timeline
Bone jaw harps from Shimao
Excavations in the Huangchengtai area uncovered more than 20 bone jaw harps and unfinished examples. Radiocarbon dating of associated material indicated an age of approximately 4,000 years. The instruments were made mainly from cattle ribs or other dense bone and were sounded by pulling a string.
Bone jaw harps from the Altai
Five bone jaw harps and unfinished pieces come from the Chultukov Log 9 and Cheremshanka sites in the Altai Republic. After approximately 1,600 years, one of the complete instruments was preserved well enough to be sounded again.
The earliest European evidence
The archaeological literature places the earliest European finds in eastern Moldova at the end of the 10th century. Metal jaw harps became increasingly widespread in Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown
Finds from Wrocław in historic Lower Silesia, which later became part of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, have been dated to the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. It is therefore important to distinguish the historical Crown lands from the territory of the present-day Czech Republic.
Prague, Moravia and South Bohemia
Four archaeological finds from Prague include an example from the Clementinum recovered from a layer dated to the 14th century. The jaw harp from Rokštejn Castle comes from a 14th–15th-century horizon, and another find is known from Brno-Zábrdovice. Archaeological work at the Hradecká Gate in Třeboň also recorded a jaw harp.
Jaw harp making in Molln, Austria
The Austrian Commission for UNESCO records the first written references to jaw harp makers in Molln in the early 15th century and documents their guild from the 17th century. Traditional jaw harp making in Molln was added to Austria’s inventory of intangible cultural heritage in 2014.
Renewed international interest
Festivals, recordings, academic research and online communities have connected local traditions. International jaw harp festivals have been held since 1984, with the third congress taking place in Molln in 1998.
Archaeological finds up close
Photographs from the supplied archaeological archive bring the timeline to life with actual finds from Prague, Moravia and the Altai.
Cultural and spiritual contexts
Across different cultures, the jaw harp has accompanied personal music-making, dance, courtship, storytelling and ritual. Academic literature on the Sakha khomus also records the traditional belief that its music brings joy, dispels sadness or helps in illness.
Sources and further reading
- Chinese Social Sciences Network: four thousand years of sound from Shimao — archaeological context, radiocarbon dating, construction and manufacture of the bone jaw harps.
- Xinhua: bone jaw harps from the Shimao site — report from the presentation by the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.
- Tomasz Cymbalak: jaw harps in the archaeological record — peer-reviewed study published by the National Heritage Institute, DOI 10.56112/sp.2023.2.05.
- University of South Bohemia: archaeological research in Třeboň — summary of the jaw harp find at the Hradecká Gate, citing the original excavation report.
- Austrian Commission for UNESCO: making the Molln jaw harp — history of the craft and its continuing tradition.
- International Jew’s Harp Society: The Instrument — construction types, geographical distribution and terminology.
- Ochanomizu University: playing techniques of the Sakha khomus — academic account of cultural beliefs associated with khomus music.
- Oleszczak et al.: Chultukov Log 9 — academic study of the Xiongnu–Xianbei–Rouran-period archaeological site in the northern Altai.
- Brumlista.cz archaeological image archive — source photographs of the Clementinum, Rokštejn and the Altai, together with other collected materials.