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On the relationship between sound, acoustics, and San rock art: An archaeoacoustic study at twenty-seven sites in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains (South Africa)

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Over the past two decades, scholars have proposed the existence of a strong relationship between sound, acoustics, and the production of San rock art in certain places. However, this intriguing hypothesis had never been tested through the systematic application of a rigorous method to a substantial sample of sites. In this paper, we present an unprecedented archaeoacoustic study conducted at 27 shelters with San paintings located in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains (South Africa). The results obtained through the use of the impulse response (IR) method indicate that such a relationship should not be considered a pattern, but a circumstantial occurrence identified only in specific parts of the South African territory. Drawing on these data, we suggest that in our study area, the choice of sites to be painted may have been predominantly influenced by ontological beliefs concerning how the San perceived the shelters and the surrounding landscape.

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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2025, vol. 61, p. 1-10

# metadata.dc.rights[].value
cc by (c) Santos da Rosa, Neemias et al., 2024

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Articles publicats en revistes (Història i Arqueologia)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
On the relationship between sound, acoustics, and San rock art: An archaeoacoustic study at twenty-seven sites in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains (South Africa)