Sentence:  As argued by Dr. Burney, and as implied by the customs of still extant barbarous races, the first musical instruments were, without doubt, <WSD>percussive</WSD>—sticks, calabashes, tom-toms—and were used simply to mark the time of the dance&#8239;; and in this constant repetition of the same sound, we see music in its most homogeneous form. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Characterized by percussion; caused by or related to the action of striking or pounding something.