Theme:
5. Theories and methods in archaeology: interactions between disciplines
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Archaeology of Soundscapes and Soundscapes for Archaeology
Content:
Soundscapes – both natural and human – are an important study for those interested in the past. Ethnomusicologists have shown that soundscapes can shape cultural knowledge, including not only musical aesthetics and symbolic meanings associated with sound, but also religious beliefs, memories, emotions, and even social behaviours. In natural landscapes, human beings are surrounded by a rich sonic cosmos in which to create, reinforce, or contest their world views. Moreover, anthropic soundscapes delineate human cultures and are able to mark time, frame ritual contexts, establish borders in the landscape, reinforce or separate cultural identities, and even define sacredness, power, and prestige. Music archaeology and archaeoacoustics have laid the methodological basis for reflecting on the possibilities of unveiling past anthropic soundscapes and musical and acoustic behaviours, as well as the relations of these with both ecology and culture.
For this session, we welcome proposals that reflect on the importance of soundscapes in past and present cultures and examine different methodological and theoretical approaches to the study and reconstruction of past soundscapes through for example archaeoacoustics, archaeological finds, iconographies, written sources and ethnographic comparisons. We also encourage discussions about ancient musical instruments and their relation to both natural sounds and acoustics, along with their presence in anthropic soundscapes. Presentations on projects dealing with the use of sounds, music or reconstructed soundscapes in the dissemination of archaeological heritage will be also welcomed. In particular, we would like to receive proposals for papers that reflect on the possibilities of enhancing the experiences and involvement of visitors to archaeological contexts through sound. Finally, we also invite ethnomusicologists to share their reflections on the interactions of soundscapes and culture, such as the presence of acoustic phenomena in myths, the use of particular acoustic conditions in rituals, or the creation of ritual soundscapes.
Keywords:
Soundscape, Music Archaeology, Archaeoacoustics, Acoustic Ecology, Sound Studies, Intangible Heritage
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Margarita Díaz-Andreu (Spain) 1,2
Co-organisers:
Rupert Till (United Kingdom) 3
Raquel Jiménez-Pasaolodos (Spain) 4,2
Affiliations:
1. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)
2. Universitat de Barcelona
3. University of Huddersfield
4. Universidad de Valladolid
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