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Music has wings! It has crossed the oceans so many times that it is impossible even for historians to remember all the individual crossings. Indeed, the paths that music takes to fly from place to place are often erased. Songs go viral every day, yet many people can’t even tell where a song they love to sing comes from. Perhaps one could say that music comes from everywhere. We live in a world of music!
Research has just gone viral on social media showing conclusive evidence of musical cohesion across the world since the Bronze Age – that is, since 1400 BCE. By contrast, during the same time, grandiose politics has only created borders. Yes! One can say that about music because there is still music that was composed in the Bronze Age!
One of the oldest scriptures to survive from ancient times is the Rig Veda. It contains more than a thousand hymns dedicated to deities such as Agni (Fire, etymologically as “ignite”) and Ushas (Dawn, etymologically as “east”).
According to scientific consensus, the oldest core of the Rig Veda dates back to 1200–1500 BCE — the Bronze Age. Despite this age, the text of the Rig Veda has been preserved with remarkable accuracy. Ancient commentaries even explain how the Rig Veda was once sung, and the scholarly consensus has long been that these commentaries are correct. This means that we still know roughly how it was sung during the Bronze Age, even though the accent has slightly changed over the millennia.
In addition to the Rig Veda, there is another piece of music that dates back to the Bronze Age. It is a musical score found in the Near East, encoded in a millennia-old Akkadian musical notation. Archaeologists working on the East Coast of the Mediterranean found this musical score in the mid20th century. It is a hymn dedicated to a Near Eastern goddess, Nikkal.
This composition is the only other music known from the Bronze Age. The stunning revelation is that this Hymn to Nikkal and the Rig Veda are closely related, and their relationship tells a remarkable story, an almost incredible testimony to the power of music.
Music from 1400 BCE? Musical cohesion across the globe? Who could have imagined and discovered something like this? Well, someone had to discover this story about music, and this lucky person was I — as a student. I kept it a secret until I became a professor and tested my findings with a computer-aided analysis. The results of this analysis speak for themselves.
Here is how I proceeded. I focused on cadences. They are rhythmic or harmonic elements that help structure musical phrasing, often marking turning points or closure. Think of Adele’s song “Rolling in the Deep.” The whole song is a sequence of cadences: “there’s a fire, … starting in my heart, … reaching a fever pitch, … bringing me out the dark.” That last “…bringing me out the dark” is so crisp: “…DOO-dodo-DOO-do-DOO!” — “…BRINGing-me-OUT-the-DARK!”
The rhythm definitely strikes a chord, resonating deep in your chest. In the video, a liquid vibrates rhythmically in hundreds of glasses placed on the floor, which pulses with the beat. This image is followed by the chorus, “we-COULD-have-HAD-it-ALL!” — “…do-DOO-do-DOO-do-DOO!” This cadence follows an iambic rhythm, almost a heartbeat, and it also makes it clear that this verse is either an important turning point in the music or the very end.
Of course, cadences existed for thousands of years. Nikkal’s Hymn — unearthed in the ancient city of Ugarit — has two cadences: one in the middle, “…DOO-dodo-DOO-do-DOO-DOO!”, and one at the end, “DOO-DOO-DOO-do-DOO-do-DOO!” Both of these cadences are quite similar to Adele, but there is more.
My analysis demonstrates that these two cadences are rhythmically identical to the two most common cadences of the Rig Veda. Indeed, one in five verses of the Rig Veda ends with the rhythms from Ugarit. The computer corroborated that such a close match has a likelihood of less than one in a million to be a chance encounter. It’s as good as impossible. There must have been some kind of musical (or else divine) communication between the Mediterranean and India. The technical details of my computeraided analysis are available online.
Both the Rig Veda and the Hymn to Nikkal have not just rhythms, but also a melodic structure. According to the scientific consensus, the Rig Veda was once sung, and one can reconstruct the skeleton of the melodies, because they follow the word accent. Indeed, the accent was “melodic” in Vedic. This “melodic” accent was a common feature in ancient languages and is also present in ancient Greek and Latin. Instead of pronouncing accented syllables more stressed, ancient Vedic peoples pronounced them higher pitched.
This type of pronunciation comes naturally to many people. For example, in Adele’s song, the chorus “we-COULD-have-HAD-it-ALL!” has the rhythm “…do-DOO-do-DOO-do-DOO!” With the melody added on top, this is “…do-DEE-do-DEE-do-DEE!” (with “e” standing for higher pitch, while “o” stands for lower pitch). The longer tones are stressed and higher pitched. In this sense, high pitch can be a marker for accent. It is still used, for example in languages such as Brazilian Portuguese, or even in English; to mark the end of a question, one goes up in pitch.
From ancient commentaries of the Rig Veda, we know that melodic accent was present in Vedic. Panini, an ancient grammarian, wrote that the last syllable before each accent was lowest pitched, the accented one was highest pitched, while the syllables that followed the accent received falling pitches in between high and low.
If this description is accepted, we receive a musical structure, and we can compare this musical structure to Nikkal’s Hymn, which is encoded as a sequence of chords. Performing this comparison between the Rig Veda and the Hymn to Nikkal reveals something astonishing, for a second time: The melodies from the Mediterranean correspond excellently, especially to the most ancient hymns of the Rig Veda.
Taking the melodic structure into account, the first cadence of Nikkal’s hymn is: “…DOO-dedo-DOO-do-DOO-DEE!” This cadence is rather hard to decode from notation, but it may help to say that to modern ears, the melody comes closest to a question, rising in pitch on the last syllable. By comparison, the final cadence is easier to decode. It is not unlike Adele: “…DOO-DOO-DEE-do-DEE-do-DEE!”
Searching these cadences across verse endings in the Rig Veda, I found that the first cadence is the most frequent cadence utilized in Books 4 and 6 — the books of the families of Vamadeva and Bharadvaja. The final cadence is the most frequent cadence utilized in Book 5 — that of Atri. Together, these three books, 4, 5, and 6, make up the most ancient core of the Rig Veda, that is, the parts that were most certainly composed around 1400 BCE, when Nikkal’s Hymn was sung.
Later compositions of the Rig Veda maintain the rhythm but tend to prefer different melodies, reflecting the changing pronunciation of the accent, which leads up to how the accent is pronounced today, shifted by a syllable. Evidently, we can conclude not only that music has had wings and has flown from India to the Mediterranean or back. We can specifically conclude that it did so during the Bronze Age. This is the story that the matching melodies tell. The melodies were sung, flying over thousands of miles of mountains, highland plateaus, deserts, and seas, during the Bronze Age.
Perhaps the close historical but distant geographical connection that came to light in Bronze Age music becomes even more relevant when one considers what happened later. The first cadence from Ugarit reappears on the Greek island of Lesbos in some of the most famous Greek verses of early Classical Antiquity, composed by Sappho and Alcaeus. Then it is retaken in Rome, in the most famous Latin verses of late Classical Antiquity, composed by Horace. Finally, it is rediscovered in modern Europe, inspiring some of the finest verses of German classicism.
In Germany, Hölderlin wrote some of the most beloved German verses utilizing Alcaeus’s meter, while Johannes Brahms composed music for a “Sapphic ode.” Amazingly, this first cadence from Ugarit has made it even into the U.S. national anthem, which grew out of a tradition inspired by ancient Greek poetry.
In the national anthem, the words “…Light, what so proudly we hailed?” have the very same rhythm “…DOO-dodo-DOO-do-DOO-DOO!” That’s recorded in the musical score of the national anthem, and it’s also recorded in the musical score from Ugarit.
By comparison, the rhythm of the final cadence from Ugarit reappears throughout the ensuing millennia and around the globe on all continents. It is a rhythm resembling a heartbeat — and one that unites the whole globe. The original lyrics that were sung with this rhythm were, “… YES-SHE-LOVES-with-ALL-her-HEART!”
Good rhythms and good music kept uniting people while politics kept creating borders. The treaties between kings, pharaohs, or emperors were long in the making but never lasted: Ugarit burnt. Lesbos was conquered. Rome was sacked. And the modern epoch went through the deadliest world wars of all times.
Especially today, global ties are falling apart again. Could a song like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” or a composition like those of the Rig Veda once again help reunite everyone?
Music is often described as a “universal language,” but its role in unifying cultures and political systems is complex. It is more like a bridge for empathy and shared identity than a direct tool for political unification, though it has historically played a role in soft power and diplomatic thawing. Here are some of the implications of musical diffusion.
When music diffuses, it rarely replaces local traditions entirely; instead, it creates hybrid forms that allow different societies to understand one another. Shared Youth Culture: The global diffusion of genres like Hip Hop and Rock & Roll created a transnational youth identity. Teenagers in Tokyo, Berlin, and New York might share similar values (rebellion, individualism, or social consciousness) transmitted through the music, creating a “global village” effect.
The “Contact Hypothesis”: Sociological studies suggest that exposure to the cultural products of an “out-group” (like their music) reduces prejudice. For example, the popularity of African American jazz and blues in white American society during the mid-20th century is often cited as a subtle precursor to the Civil Rights movement, as it humanized the black experience for white audiences.
Syncretism: The diffusion of music leads to new genres that unify disparate groups. Reggaeton, for example, unifies elements of Jamaican dancehall, American hip hop, and Latin American rhythms, creating a pan-Latino identity that transcends specific national borders.
While music rarely forces political systems to merge, it is a potent tool of ‘Soft Power’—the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce. Here are examples:
Cultural Diplomacy: During the Cold War, the US sent ‘jazz ambassadors’ – the legendary Armstrong and Ellington – to the Eastern Bloc and Africa to counter Soviet influence and project an image of American freedom.
Protest Anthems: “We Shall Overcome” originated in the US Civil Rights movement but was adopted by anti-apartheid activists in South Africa and pro-democracy students in Tiananmen Square, unifying resistance movements globally.
Thawing Relations: The New York Philharmonic went to Pyongyang in 2008. While it didn’t unify the Koreas, the concert was a rare moment of diplomatic engagement between the US and North Korea, allowing for a brief suspension of hostility.
On the other hand, the evidence shows distinct limitations such as these examples.
Appropriation vs. Appreciation: Musical diffusion can sometimes lead to resentment rather than unity. If a dominant culture adopts the music of a marginalized society without credit or context (cultural appropriation), it can reinforce power imbalances rather than dissolve them.
Nationalism in Music: Music is just as often used to fortify borders as to break them down. National anthems and folk revivals are frequently used by authoritarian regimes to reject outside influence and enforce a strict, separate national identity
The “K-Pop” Effect: While South Korean Pop (K-Pop) has diffused globally, creating massive cultural affinity for Korea, it has not translated into significant political leverage for South Korea in resolving tensions with neighbors like Japan or China. The cultural love exists parallel to, but separate from, political friction.
Perhaps the most direct experiment in using music to unify political systems is the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Goal: Founded in 1956, its explicit aim was to bring together wartorn European nations through a light entertainment broadcast.
The Result: It effectively created a shared European cultural calendar and highlighted a collective European identity. However, voting patterns often reveal deep-seated political alliances (e.g., Greece and Cyprus always voting for each other) and geopolitical rivalries (e.g., tensions between Russia and Ukraine playing out on stage). It reflects the political landscape rather than altering it.
There is strong evidence that musical diffusion unifies cultures by creating shared emotional vocabularies, reducing prejudice, and forming transnational identities.
However, there is little evidence that it unifies political systems in a structural sense (e.g., merging governments). Instead, it functions as a lubricant— making friction between societies bearable and occasionally opening doors for diplomats to walk through.
As the conductor Daniel Barenboim, who founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (bringing together Israeli and Arab musicians), famously said: “Music is not a profession; it is a way of life. And it can change the world, but very slowly.”
Would you like to hear the oldest song in the world? My recording of Nikkal’s Hymn, following my reconstruction can be found under: bit.ly/ni-ka-la and bit.ly/HymnNikkal. If you’d like yet another, only instrumental recording without voice, use: www.science.org/content/podcast/ analyzing-music-ancient-greece-androme-and-100-days-shook-science. This one is an interview that features an instrumental recording.
As a child, Dan C. Baciu witnessed the 1989 Romanian revolution, which showcased the importance of culture in uniting people. Today, he is a professor active across California, Illinois, Kentucky, and Europe, with research featured on the Science AAAS weekly podcast.