July 1, 2008 -- At least 12,000 years ago, the most popular musical events might have taken place in torch-lit caves next to walls covered in art, according to new archaeological research in France.
Stone Age-era caves there bear paintings located in the most acoustically resonant places, where sound lingers or echoes.
The first cathedrals, theaters and concert halls, researchers now theorize, may have been inspired by musical performances held in caves.
Iegor Reznikoff of the University of Paris told Discovery News that he stumbled upon the Stone Age art and music connection.
"I am a specialist of the resonance of buildings and spaces, particularly of the resonance of Romanesque churches," Reznikoff explained. "The first time I happened to be in a prehistoric cave, I tried the resonance in various parts of the cave, and quickly the question arose: Is there a relation between resonance and locations of the paintings?"
To test his question, Reznikoff sang and hummed within various parts of well-known French caves containing prehistoric art. These included Niaux and Le Portel in Ariege, as well as Arcy-sur-Cure in Burgandy.
He drew three key conclusions from the "sound checks." First, most pictures were located in, or very near to, resonant locations. Second, the density of the pictures in these areas is proportional to the intensity of that spot's resonance. Finally, resonant areas where painting would be difficult, such as narrow passageways, appear to have been marked with red lines.
The latter finding suggests cave dwellers first scoped out caves for their musicality before any painting commenced.
Reznikoff will present his findings this week in Paris at Acoustics08, a meeting jointly organized by the Acoustical Society of America, the European Acoustics Association and the Societe Francaise d'Acoustique.
His findings could help explain why bone flutes have been found near some caves containing the Stone Age art.
"The [prehistoric] tribes could make sounds with stones, pieces of wood, different types of drums and so on," Reznikoff said.
"Of course the Paleolithic tribes did sing, as do all cultural groups from other regions," he said. "That they did so in the caves is shown by my studies. The ritual purpose appears very convincing."
David Lubman of the Acoustical Society of America, and one of the world's leading acoustical experts, told Discovery News that when he first heard about Reznikoff's theories, he could "imagine picturesque scenes of cave persons dancing, singing and chanting to some kind of rhythmic music while the torch lights flickered to show the cave paintings."
Lubman said he hopes future studies will support Reznikoff's theories with scientific measurements.
It's possible that all of today's music could have resulted from an ingrained human memory of the acoustical properties of caves, added Lubman.
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