
The mechanism al-Jazari developed is quite simple. Pegs stick out from a drum such that, as it rotates, the pegs knock on levers which produce different sounds. Rhythmic variations could be produced by changing the order of the pegs -- hence, the musicians were programmable humanoid robots.
Technological "progress" is not a line, but a circle -- a drum that keeps on spinning until the peg strikes the right note, at the right time.
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