Echoes, reverberations and other then-inexplicable auditory illusions may have inspired mankinds earliest artists. Today, we know about sound waves, Waller told Live Science. Prehistoric people did not. To them, echoes might be the voices of spirits and reverberations the sounds of thunder gods — notions enshrined in traditional mythologies passed down around the world. Waller isnt the only researcher beginning to investigate the acoustics of ancient sites. The field of acoustic archaeology is growing as researchers increasingly take sound into account in their excavations. In Peru, for example, the pre-Inca ceremonial site of Chavín de Huántar features labyrinths that would have created bizarre, disorienting echoes. According to the research team, instruments called pututus, made of conch shells, have been found at the site, revealing the importance of sound in ancient rituals. Its no coincidence these animals are painted in caves where the echoes reverberate so much that a few sounds quickly escalate into a thunderous roar. His measurements bear this out: He has found that cave areas with a higher level of reverberation are more likely to be decorated with art. Another Stonehenge study, released in 2012, found that the complete stone circle would have had amazing acoustics that would have reflected sound like a modern lecture hall. Though the researchers did not go as far as to say that acoustics motivated the construction of Stonehenge, they suggested that the sites sound properties could have affected how it was used. livescience/48493-sound-illusions-inspired-prehistoric-cave-art.html?adbid=10152351213596761&adbpl=fb&adbpr=30478646760&cmpid=514627_20141029_34563837
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 08:46:57 +0000
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