May 03rd, 2017

A few thoughts regarding the field of archaeoacoustics. Having conjectured about this recently I believe that the study of archaeological soundscapes and acoustics has emerged from a pseudo science into a fully fledged field of study going hand in hand with the emergence of digital technologies. When author Paul Devereux coined the term in the 70's the subject was of niche interest and a footnote to archaeology based more on physical artifacts and visual observations. However as digital processing technologies have advanced and become ever more complex and sophisticated the potential we now find and the possible emergence of VR technologies is and will continue to advance this into a serious field of scientific analysis. Creativity and imagination still play a large part in our re-imagining of our past and the multi-sensory experiences of their environment our ancestors enjoyed. Indeed I once wrote in a paper that early paleolithic cave dwellers in caves such as those found at Chauvet in the South of France may have been the equivalent of the modern day i-Max cinema. As fires illuminated the cave art they created of various indigenous animals and made them "dance" one can imagine chanting and if not drumming in a conventional sense, then percussion and chanting may have played an equally important part in creating a multi-sensory experience of transcendence.