With Archaeoacoustics, Researchers Listen for Clues to the Prehistoric Past

1/4. Wall painting at Kapova Cave (Russia). The caverns here are an area of acoustic research for Reznikoff. SaganZ/CC BY-SA 4.0

Investigators in this small, emerging field make noise in caves and measure resonance.

Iegor Reznikoff shows no self-consciousness as he imitates the sound of a prehistoric bison in the middle of a Parisian hybrid café and Chinese restaurant. And frankly, no one seems to pay him any mind.

Reznikoff, a tall man dressed all in black, has the look of a musician, which he is. He is also an early pioneer in a field that has become formally known as archaeoacoustics, or sound archaeology. He is explaining his process for exploring prehistoric painted caves, a mix of systematic measurement and vocal experimentation.

Archaeology aims to infer things about the behavior of people of the past, mainly working back from physical structures and objects. Archaeo-acousticians want a sense of how the past sounded. Their methods include the careful examination of sites, known to have been used by humans, for clues about rituals performed there that might have included sound. They may also generate sound on-site to then measure the resonance or the echoes in a space. [...] Atlas Obscura


Related video: 2013. Iegor Reznikoff imitating sounds of animals in a recess - Vimeo

Iegor Reznikoff imitating sounds of animals in a recess from Matt Thompson on Vimeo.