Archaeologists show how ancient civilizations manipulated sound through architecture – some, to provoke mental and sensory disorientation in religious and psychoadelical rituals.
Ancient American civilizations, such as the Mayans and the people of the Andes, conceived architectural structures with unbelievable acoustic properties, capable of amplifying, distorting and manipulating sounds.
In the old Maia de Palenquein present -day Mexico, a study led by archaeologist Francisca Zalaquett, from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, suggests that temples and squares built around the year 600 AD functioned as true sound systems “off the current”, capable of designing voices and sounds over great distances.
The so -called “Northern Group” of Palenque projects the human voice and sounds of musical instruments with audible clarity up to about 100 meters, note a.
The Mayans wore musical instruments – seed gourds, modified shells, turtle carapaces played with deer or flute horns and ocarinas. Projection rooms and the possible strategic application of stucco On constructions surfaces suggest that Mayan architects may have adjusted the acoustics of temples to improve sound propagation during public ceremonies such as enthronizations, noble births or battle victories. Current measurements and three -dimensional models of the site support this hypothesis.
Spaces designed to go crazy?
But the Mayans were not the only ones. Thousands of kilometers south, in the Peruvian Andes, another study points to the use of architecture for acoustic purposes and even Psychological.
Em Chavín de Huántara ceremonial complex of about 3,000 years, an underground maze of winding corridors and interconnected rooms seems to have been designed to provoke Mental and Sensory Disorientation.
The team led by Stanford University archaeologist John Rick concluded that sounds such as human voices or the powerful roars produced by marine shell trumpets found in the place reverberate in a peculiar way in the stone galleries. At certain points, the Echoes multiply And they seem to have the origin of all directions, creating an absolutely disconcerting sound experience.
Researchers believe that this acoustic maze was part of religious initiation rituals associated with Chavin worship.
Archaeological evidence also points to the Use of psychoactive substances During these rituals. Sculptures show human figures in metamorphosis with animal characteristics, possibly under the influence of drugs such as Cato San Pedro, which is still used in shamanic rituals in the region. Bone pipes and grinding stones were also found that may have been used to prepare and administer hallucinogenic substances.
To deepen the knowledge about the sound effects in Chavin, the team has created three -dimensional acoustic models that will allow different scenarios to simulate – so that they can test scenarios where a crowd of hundreds of people sing simultaneously in the galleries.
Although there is no certainty about the intentionality of builders in the creation of these sound effects, many experts believe that these civilizations, even without fully understanding the science of acoustics, knew how to explore phenomena to impact.
