Abstract

Acoustic wave interference produces audible effects observed and measured in archaeoacoustic research at the 3,000-year-old Andean Formative site at Chavín de Huántar, Perú. The ceremonial center’s highly-coupled network of labyrinthine interior spaces is riddled with resonances excited by the lower-frequency range of site-excavated conch shell horns. These pututus, when played together in near-unison tones, produce a distinct “beat” effect heard as the result of the amplitude variation that characterizes this linear interaction. Despite the straightforward acoustic explanation for this architecturally enhanced instrumental sound effect, the performative act reveals an intriguing perceptual complication. While playing pututus inside Chavín’s substantially intact stone-and-earthen-mortar buildings, pututu performers have reported an experience of having their instruments’ tones “guided” or “pulled” into tune with the dominant spatial resonances of particular locations. In an ancient ritual context, the recognition and understanding of such a sensory component would relate to a particular worldview beyond the reach of present-day investigators. Despite our temporal distance, an examination of the intertwined acoustic phenomena operative to this architectural–instrumental–experiential puzzle enriches the interdisciplinary research perspective, and substantiates perceptual claims.

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