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272There is another possibility to view the tradition of vocal and instrumentalpolyphony in Ancient Mesoamerica in a historical perspective. Readers might remember,that the blown polyphonic instruments are often becoming particularly important incultures when the tradition of vocal polyphony is waning. The sheer number of themultitubed polyphonic blown instruments in Mesoamerican culture might be indicatingthat the tradition of vocal polyphony was in a state of decline and disappearance duringthe creation of the hundreds and thousands of multitubed flutes.Small Appendix to this “Case Study”. South America seems to be the onlyregion on our planet where the populations of the colder climate (European and EastAsians) managed to go beyond the hot and unfriendly “tropical belt” and to settle insouthern hemisphere in prehistoric times. Before that Europeans and East Asians did notsucceeded (at least in large numbers) going beyond the “tropical belt” and settling in sub-Saharan Africa, tropical island Southeast Asia, or Australia.Why South America? I propose there is a good geographical reason for this.Unlike the tropical Africa and tropical Asia, South America has a unique geographicecological“passage” between the northern to southern hemispheres, allowing thedwellers of the colder climate to go through the tropical hot and wet rainforests. I amtalking about South American mountain range (Andes) that goes through the“tropical belt”, and therefore provides a passage for the populations used to themoderate and colder climate and environment. I do not need to argue that mountainranges always create the certain microclimate (cooler and less humid) and harbor most ofthe resort settlements in tropical countries, particularly for non-indigenous residents.Therefore, when Europeans and East Asians reached Central and then South America, theAndes provided for them the only existing on earth passage to travel further to thesouthern part of the globe. This must be reason that South America is the only regionwhere the descendants of European and East Asian populations settled in southernhemisphere in prehistoric times. Andean region could also facilitate the ecologicaladjustment of Native Americans (originally from colder regions) to the tropicalrainforests of Amazonian basin.The importance of the “Andean Passage” must have been crucial not only in caseof well-documented arrival of Siberian populations via Bering Strait, but even for thedubious possibility of the late European arrivals via Atlantic Ocean. In both cases thenew arrivals entered American continents from the Northern hemisphere, and thereforethe Andes must have provided the passage, connecting North and Central America withthe southern parts of the South America.