How did people entertain themselves? As they do today, many community events, pastimes, and games may have had elements of both public ritual and ceremony, as well as recreation.
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Musical Instruments
Few musical instruments have survived, although music was undoubtedly important. We have recognized two artifact types that probably were designed to create music.
Rasp: The most common artifact is a rasp, usually made from the rib of a deer or bison. It was probably played by rubbing a stick across the grooves on the rasp. Rasps are one of the most distinctive artifacts of the Late Prehistoric/Proto-Historic period, from about 1500 to 1700 AD.
Whistle: A whistle made from the wing bone of a goose was probably played by blowing gently across the top of the hole. You can see how this works by blowing gently over top of a bottle, and seeing how the sound changes.
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Games
Chunkey: A game using polished stone disks, called chunkey stones, was still being played when the first European travelers arrived in the midwest. A disk is rolled along the ground, and players attempt to throw their spears parallel to the stone's roll, predicting where the stone will finally stop. There was intense competition.
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