The realisation that modern Indian horns are almost identical to many iron-age European artifacts shows a rich cultural link between the two regions 2,000 years ago, said PhD student Billy O Foghlu, from The Australian National University (ANU).
"I was astonished to find what I thought to be dead soundscapes alive and living in Kerala today," said O Foghlu.
"The musical traditions of south India, with horns such as the kompu, are a great insight into musical cultures in Europe's prehistory," he said.
The findings help show that Europe and India had a lively cultural exchange with musicians from the different cultures sharing independently developed technology and musical styles.
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One example of this musical mixing is depicted in a carving of a celebration in Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh dating from 300 BC that shows a group of musicians taking part, playing two European carnyces, a horn with an animal's head.
The musical style of Kerala explains some of the mysteries surrounding the horns that have been unearthed in European iron-age excavations and suggest a very different musical soundscape to current western music, said O Foghlu.
"This was previously assumed to be evidence of shoddy workmanship. But in Indian music this kind of dissonance is deliberate and beautiful," he said.
"Horns are used more as a rhythm instrument, not for melody or harmony in a western sense," he said.
The research was published in the Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology.