Archaeologists excavating a paleolithic cave site in Galilee, Israel, have found evidence that a deep-cave compound at the site may have been used for ritualistic gatherings, according to a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). That evidence includes the presence of a symbolically carved boulder in a prominent […]
December 9, 2024 | acoustics, anthropology, Archaeology, Science | No comments
A “near-crested lizard” Reconstruction of the environment where Parasaurolophus walkeri lived during the Cretaceous. Credit: Marco Antonio Pineda/CC BY-SA 4.0 The most intriguing hypothesis is that the crest served as a resonating chamber, first proposed in 1931 by Swedish paleontologist Carl Wiman, who noted that the crest’s structure was similar to that of a swan […]
November 21, 2024 | acoustics, dinosaurs, paleontology, Science | No comments
The US Capitol building in Washington, DC, is adorned with multiple lavish murals created in the 19th century by Italian artist Constantino Brumidi. These include panels in the Senate first-floor corridors, Room H-144, and the rotunda. The crowning glory is The Apotheosis of Washington on the dome of the rotunda, 180 feet above the floor. Brumidi […]
November 21, 2024 | acoustics, art conservation, Science | No comments
Aztec death whistles don’t fit into any existing Western classification for wind instruments; they seem to be a unique kind of “air spring” whistle, based on CT scans of some of the artifacts. Sascha Frühholz, a cognitive and affective neuroscientist at the University of Zürich, and several colleagues wanted to learn more about the physical […]
November 20, 2024 | acoustics, anthropology, archaeoacoustics, aztec culture, experimental archaeology, psychoacoustics, Science | No comments