Session: #322

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
The archaeology of material culture, bodies and landscapes
Session format:
Session, made up of a combination of papers, max. 15 minutes each

Title & Content

Title:
The origins of sound-making, singing and music. The archaeoacoustics of early humans
Content:
Archaeoacoustics is the archaeology of sound. It encompasses ancient soundscapes, acoustic properties of ancient sites, ancient music, singing and instruments, and various uses of sounds, singing and music in social, political, religious, and other contexts. In this session the presentations should focus on evidence-based archaeoacoustic studies. They are not limited to archaeological sites, but should present data that are connected to relevant theories, and the appropriate use of ethnographic or anthropological analogies. The range of available sound- or music-making instruments have varied through time and across cultures, implying that the sounds and the music produced have been very varied. And, the techniques for vocal sound-making, such as various kinds of singing and chanting also have had a great range of variations. In general, there seems to be a common fascination for sound-making, singing and music that is typical (although not exclusive) for human beings. To explore the origins of sound-making/singing/music is a challenge for archaeoacoustics. This session invites contributions that explore the possible origins of sound-making, singing and music; and contributions that explore their possible functions in early human groups and societies.
Keywords:
archaeoacoustics, early music, evidence
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no

Organisers

Main organiser:
Professor Dr Torill Christine Lindstrom (Norway) 1,2
Co-organisers:
Professor, Dr. Ezra Zubrow (Canada) 3,4
Affiliations:
1. University of Bergen, Dept of Psychosocial Science
2. University of Bergen, SapienCE, Centre for early Sapiens Behaviour, CoE
3. University at Buffalo
4. University of Toronto