Archaeoacoustics studies historical sound, merging archaeology, anthropology, and psychology to reveal insights about ancient music and acoustic environments.

Exploring Ancient Sounds and Places: Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Archaeoacoustics brings together scholars from diverse academic fields – including archaeology, anthropology, architecture, classics, history, art history and sound engineering – to shed light on the role of sound and acoustics in the cultural practices of past societies from various chronologies and locations around the world. This innovative volume covers a broad spectrum of topics, such as the genesis of archaeological investigations into sound, the emergence of speech and song in early humans, the cognitive effects of music in ritualistic contexts, the acoustic dimensions of rock art sites, and the emotional responses elicited by sonorous activities experienced in these decorated spaces. Additionally, the book delves into the study of prehistoric musical instruments, the use of ethnohistorical sources in archaeoacoustic research, the analysis of sound imagery in medieval frescoes, and explores historical approaches to the study of specific acoustic parameters and the sonic properties of urban environments. Each chapter not only aggregates a wealth of academic perspectives but also bridges the gap between theoretical concepts and the most advanced methods used in this field of research. Case studies from all over the world illustrate the different ways in which ancient communities perceived and engaged with sound and the acoustics of the landscapes in which they were immersed. Exploring Ancient Sounds and Places is an essential resource for scholars and students interested in archaeoacoustics and how sound has shaped the cognitive, cultural and spiritual facets of human societies across time and space.

• Cover page
• Title page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of contributors
• 1. Exploring ancient sounds and places: The challenges of hearing intangible heritage in the past
• 2. The role of listening in the prehistorical emergence of speech and song: A precursor to becoming human?
• 3. Archoustemology and the Aurignacian: Ancient ways of knowing through sound
• 4. The sounds are audible: Fabricating ancient instruments – what more can we learn?
• 5. Methodologies to explore the cognitive effects of music in rituals: Implications for studying ancient ritual activities
• 6. Methods for psychoacoustic and emotional evaluation of archaeological soundscapes with auralisation
• 7. Ethnohistorical sources in archaeoacoustics research: A case study from South-Central California
• 8. Early rock music: Methodology to identify and analyse portable lithophones. An example from Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, US
• 9. Preliminary insights into the archaeoacoustics of cup-marked sounding rocks in the north area of the Gredos mountain chain, Spain
• 10. The rock art soundscapes of the Karakol valley (Republic of Altai, Russia): An archaeoacoustic study of a unique landscape
• 11. Sound imagery in medieval Serbian frescoes
• 12. Acoustic space then and now: Listening to history
• 13. Estimation of speech intelligibility in the past: Learning from Benjamin Franklin’s experiment