Auditory Archaeology ─ Understanding Sound and Hearing in the Past

Auditory archaeology considers the potential contribution of everyday, mundane and unintentional sounds in the past and how these may have been significant to people. Steve Mills explores ways of examining evidence to identify intentionality with respect to the use of sound, drawing on perception psychology as well as soundscape and landscape studies of various kinds. His methodology provides a flexible and widely applicable set of elements that can be adapted for use in a broad range of archaeological and heritage contexts. The outputs of this research form the case studies of the Teleorman River Valley in Romania, Catalhoyuk in Turkey, and West Penwith, a historical site in the UK.This fascinating volume will help archaeologists and others studying human sensory experiences in the past and present.

Steve Mills is lecturer in IT applications in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University. Interested in the many different ways people in the past engaged with and understood their surroundings, including through sound and hearing, he has participated in field research in Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Turkey, the UK and the US. Between 2001 and 2003 he was a member of the landscape characterisation and mapping team supporting the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Bid (inscribed 2006). From 1998 onwards he has been a member of the Southern Romania Archaeological Project investigating prehistoric land use in Romanian river valleys. As a principal investigator he contributed to the Magura Past and Present Project (2008-2011) exploring relationships between art and archaeology to promote local heritage in a Romanian village and county museum. He is currently involved in a project investigating the dog catacombs at Saqqara, Egypt, and a project studying the impact of sea level change in the Isles of Scilly, UK. His other publications explore themes in the European Neolithic; the application of landscape characterisation, GIS, field survey techniques and digital media in archaeology; and community engagement with heritage.