First encounters: Chinese archaeologists discover link between pentagram and sound on 2,300-year-old bamboo records
- Researchers studying bamboo slips from the Warring States period have made a discovery which directly links the pentagram symbol with music
- The findings revealed an ancient musical text that forms a pentagram shape when its 35 bamboo strips are placed together
Arguably the most memorable feature of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi masterpiece, is the recurring tune of five musical notes. In the film, the aliens use this to communicate with the humans, and the tones are shown with five hand gestures.
This discovery, based on bamboo records, is the first to directly link the pentagram with sound.
The pentagram, or five-pointed star, is a mysterious symbol which has profound philosophical and religious significance to a number of different civilisations around the world. From around 300–150BC, it served as the symbol of Jerusalem. Today, many national flags feature pentagram designs, including China.
Archaeological studies have discovered pentagram patterns on Sumerian pottery in the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia dating from around 3000BC. In the same period, about 5,000 years ago, the earliest known pentagram graphic also appeared in China.