Cave acoustics in prehistory: Exploring the association of Palaeolithic visual motifs and acoustic response

Fazenda, Bruno; Scarre, Chris; Till, Rupert; Pasalodos, Raquel Jiménez; Rojo-Guerra, Manuel; Tejedor, Cristina; Peredo, Roberto Ontañón; Watson, Aaron; Wyatt, Simon; Benito, Carlos García; Drinkall, Helen C.; Foulds, F.W.F.

doi:10.1121/1.4998721

Cited by 57 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Our primary conclusion is that there is statistical, although weak, evidence, for an association between acoustic responses measured within these caves and the placement of motifs. We found a statistical association between the position of motifs, particularly dots and lines, and places with low frequency resonances and moderate reverberation" [15]. SOTC indicated that acoustics were in some way linked to the caves better-known tradition of visual motif-making.…”

Section: Cavesmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…The Songs of the Caves multi-disciplinary project (SOTC) set out to explore relationships between the acoustics of the caves and positioning of paintings. Two existing publications [4,15] provide further contextual information about the caves as well as relevant archaeological references.…”

Section: Cavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A detailed account of the acoustic methodology used for collecting impulse responses has been published [4,15], and these collected responses were used for generating the acoustic metrics for caves discussed in this study. Sine sweep test signals were generated through a portable powered loudspeaker that had been characterised in an anechoic chamber, using WinMLS software on a laptop, results captured with a soundcard and small diaphragm condenser microphones.…”

Section: Cavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Precision measurement microphone capsules often require separate power supplies, connected by banana plugs to specialist cables designed for use in the laboratory or an office. The author used these during a study of the acoustics of caves featuring Palaeolithic paintings, with a methodology described in detail in previous project publications [4,15]. Despite taking care to look after them, due to the humidity these highly expensive but fragile pieces of equipment stopped working.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dodecahedron used in the author's initial field tests in caves in Spain was used with a subwoofer [4,15]. These speakers were large and heavy; the first cave being explored was at the top of a long climb up a muddy hill, and transporting the equipment was difficult.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sound Archaeology: A Study of the Acoustics of Three World Heritage Sites, Spanish Prehistoric Painted Caves, Stonehenge, and Paphos Theatre

Till

2019

Acoustics

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This paper explores the acoustics of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: five caves in Spain that feature prehistoric paintings that are up to 40,000 years old; Stonehenge stone circle in England, which is over 4000 years old; and Paphos Theatre in Cyprus, which is 2000 years old. Issues with standard acoustic methods are discussed, and a range of different possible approaches are explored for sound archaeology studies, also known as archaeoacoustics. The context of the three sites are examined followed by an analysis of their acoustic properties. Firstly, early decay time is explored, including a comparison of these sites to contemporary concert halls. Subsequently, reverberation, clarity of speech, and bass response are examined. Results show that the caves have a wide range of different naturally occurring acoustics, including reverberation, and strong bass effects. Stonehenge has acoustics that change as the design of the site develops, with some similarities to the effects in the caves. Acoustic effects vary considerably as you move further into the centre of the stone circle, and as the stone circle develops through time; these effects would be noticeable, and are a by-product of the human building of ritual sites. At Paphos Theatre, acoustics vary from the best seats on the front rows, backwards; here, the architects have considered acoustics in the design of the building. The paper illustrates the changing acoustics of ritual sites in human cultures, showing how sound contributed to giving spaces an individual character, helping to afford a sense of contextualized ritual place.Acoustics 2019, 1 662 present in different archaeological contexts and periods. This paper provides a number of novel perspectives. While previous studies of the acoustics of these and other archaeological sites have provided a range of results, this paper provides for the first time a comparison of different archaeological eras and contexts, and of acoustic metrics, such as early decay time (EDT), clarity, speech transmission, consonant intelligibility, and bass ratio. The key measure of perceived reverberation, early decay time, is discussed in some detail, and compared to results for modern concert halls, exploring results across a wide frequency range, rather than the restricted averages often referred to within industrial acoustics. The limitations imposed by approaches, such as this averaging, are discussed, and the effects are discussed of adopting an uncritical application to archaeological contexts of the standard acoustic state of the art as used in contemporary industrial research. The comparative study of three different sites illustrates the challenges for standard acoustics methods of working within this field, and provides examples of how and why one might construct a bespoke acoustics study method for these sites. Comparison is made between the caves explored, something a previous study did not consider. Acoustics of a digital model of Stonehenge at a number of receiver positions within three different phases of devel...

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Section: Cavesmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Cavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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