Activities per year
Abstract
During the 1980s, acoustic studies of Upper Palaeolithic imagery in French caves—using the technology then available—suggested a relationship between acoustic response and the location of visual motifs. This paper presents an investigation, using modern acoustic measurement techniques, into such relationships within the caves of La Garma, Las Chimeneas, La Pasiega, El Castillo, and Tito Bustillo in Northern Spain. It addresses methodological issues concerning acoustic measurement at enclosed archaeological sites and outlines a general framework for extraction of acoustic features that may be used to support archaeological hypotheses. The analysis explores possible associations between the position of visual motifs (which may be up to 40 000 yrs old) and localized acoustic responses. Results suggest that motifs, in general, and lines and dots, in particular, are statistically more likely to be found in places where reverberation is moderate and where the low frequency acoustic response has evidence of resonant behavior. The work presented suggests that an association of the location of Palaeolithic motifs with acoustic features is a statistically weak but tenable hypothesis, and that an appreciation of sound could have influenced behavior among Palaeolithic societies of this region.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1332-1349 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |
Volume | 142 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 11 Sep 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 11 Sep 2017 |
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Profiles
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Rupert Till
- School of Music, Humanities and Media - Associate Dean - International
- Department of History, English, Linguistics and Music
- Centre for Music, Culture and Identity - Member
Person: Academic
Activities
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An Introduction to Archaeoacoustics
Rupert Till (Speaker)
20 Jul 2018Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Sound Archaeology and the Acoustic Ecologies of Caves
Rupert Till (Speaker)
23 Oct 2016Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Caves, Tombs and Megaliths: Sound Archaeology and the Development of Ritual Acoustics
Rupert Till (Speaker)
16 Nov 2015Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Songs of the Caves: acoustics and prehistoric art in Cantabrian caves
Till, R., Fazenda, B. & Scarre, C.
1/02/13 → 31/03/14
Project: Research