Ecuador | The Wax Cylinders Were in the Crate
A 1914 Smithsonian expedition to eastern Ecuador (the Oriente) documented contact with an uncontacted Záharo group and returned with recordings. The recordings — wax cylinders — were catalogued and then lost in a warehouse reorganization in 1942. In 2023 a conservator found a crate mislabeled 'mineral samples' that contained 31 wax cylinders. The audio, partially restored, includes what ethnomusicologists describe as 'directional information.' The Záharo have been contacted once since 1914. You have a copy of the audio and permission from the Ecuadorian cultural ministry.
About Ecuador | The Wax Cylinders Were in the Crate
A 1914 Smithsonian expedition to eastern Ecuador (the Oriente) documented contact with an uncontacted Záharo group and returned with recordings. The recordings — wax cylinders — were catalogued and then lost in a warehouse reorganization in 1942. In 2023 a conservator found a crate mislabeled 'mineral samples' that contained 31 wax cylinders. Th...Read more