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The Conversation USA

From whistling arrows and trumpeting elephants to battle cries and eerie horns, ancient soldiers used sound to frighten and confuse their enemies

  • Written by Adrienne Mayor, Research Scholar, Classics and History and Philosophy of Science, Stanford University
imageThree soldiers (far right) carry karnyxes, long horns with frightening boar-headed mouths that produce eerie calls during battle.Prisma/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

As if the tumultuous din of battle is not horrendous enough, over the ages humans have discovered plenty of ways to exploit sound in warfare. I found an astonishing variety...

Read more: From whistling arrows and trumpeting elephants to battle cries and eerie horns, ancient soldiers...

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