A GIS approach to landscape scale archaeoacoustics

A GIS-based Archaeoacoustics Toolbox, developed in Python, offers a replicable method to model the auditory experience of past landscapes, addressing critiques of experiential theoretical approaches. Validated against modern acoustical studies, this tool provides baseline estimates of sound perception by incorporating landscape acoustics into archaeological research. Applied to case studies—including the Maya Kingdom of Copan, Ancestral Puebloan sites in Chaco Canyon, and 19th–20th century Ireland—the tool demonstrates its versatility across cultures and time periods. By integrating sound physics calculations with culturally-derived inputs, it enables researchers to explore embodied auditory experiences, performance-based practices, and the significance of soundsheds in past societies. This approach bridges phenomenological studies with quantitative analysis, offering a novel framework for understanding how sound shaped human behavior and cultural landscapes.

Primeau, K. A GIS approach to landscape scale archaeoacoustics. https://doi.org/10.54014/fdp5-xsef