Abstract
The relationship between the location of rock art and the acoustical properties of its immediate environment has been a source of previous investigation. The markings the early peoples created on rock formations open a fascinating portal into the exploration of their lifestyles. Previous research has shown that often ancient rock art was placed on surfaces or in locations that echoed, whereas locations without such echoes were undecorated [S. J. Waller, 2002 Rock Art Acoustics in the Past, Present, and Future. 1999 International Rock Art Congress Proceedings 2, 11–20]. Could the acoustical characteristics of the decorated outcroppings have been perceived by the early peoples of the American Plains? A detailed study of six rock art sites located in Ellsworth County, KS has been conducted to determine the acoustical properties of these sites. At each site, various impulsive sounds were created to energize the space. The impulse responses were recorded and analyzed using two acoustic recording and analysis computer programs. This study did find echoes occurring at the decorated sites. These echoes were quantifiably louder than any reflection of sound measured at the surrounding undecorated locations.
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