Case study of a Brothertown Indian Nation cultural heritage siteToward a framework for acoustics heritage research in simulation, analysis, and auralization

Abstract

The Brothertown Indian Nation and their ancestors have a centuries old heritage of group singing beginning along the Northeast Atlantic coast of what is now the United States and following them along their migration to the Midwest. The 18th century Curricomp cabin still stands in Connecticut and was an important location in the singing history and political movement that built Brothertown (Eeyamquittoowauconnuck). In this paper, a collaboration with Brothertown Indian Nation and an ongoing public humanities project regarding the Tribe’s aural traditions, a case study will be presented that investigates (1) the results of acoustic modeling and simulation of the Curricomp cabin and (2) auralizations for both binaural listening and a spatial audio installation using those models. Significantly, this paper employs a novel theoretical framework for acoustic heritage research that allows for (3) an analysis of how the scientific process and technological practices mediate intangible heritage. The acoustic models and auralization techniques created in this case study provide acoustic access to a heritage location that would otherwise be inaccessible to the Brothertown Community. The auralizations used in the spatial audio installation serve as a public humanities tool to amplify the contemporary voice of the Brothertown Indian Nation.