So who _did_ invent the phonograph, anyway??
Recently, the James P. Hogan website reported an intriguing (if true) discovery: someone found sound recordings etched into a Roman vase. The website report refers to a Belgian archeologist’s report that gives more details [to hear same, click on the link Télécharger la vidéo in that page to play the corresponding MP4 movie].
Should this be viewed as an early “April Fools joke”? I’d be tempted to think so, though it is, ironically, too strange to view it as a typical hoax. I still remain skeptical, if only because the very idea of recording sound with a sharp needle (as well as the effects generally descibed as “piezo-electric”) were not known to humans until the nineteenth century, and nobody prior to Thomas Edison was able to use those effects for any purpose. I may have missed some details, as the movie soundtrack is entirely in (Wallonian?) French, except for the purported Latin phrase in the recorded playback.
What do others think - historical surprise or archeological hoax? Inquiring minds would like to know.