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Although numerous types of instruments survive from pre-conquest South and Central America, little is known of how they were used. Whistles, trumpets, and rattles in animal or human form probably had ceremonial functions or served as playthings. Smaller whistles in animal shapes, perhaps worn suspended from the neck, frequently have fingerholes that allow variation of pitch.
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Title: Ocarina
Period: Pre-Columbian
Date: 1300–1550
Geography: Colombia?
Culture: probably Colombian
Medium: Ceramic
Dimensions: 2 1/4 × 2 1/8 × 5 in. (5.7 × 5.4 × 12.7 cm)
Classification: Aerophone-Blow Hole-vessel flute
Credit Line: Purchase, Robert Alonzo Lehman Bequest, 2002
Accession Number: 2002.109
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