Paper short abstract:

Our study presents the results of testing and singing with echo at Lammasjärvi rock art site. Sound analysis shows how the cliff responds to every note and literally sings with the performer. This may point to similar use of sound at rock art sites as is known at Sámi sacred sites.

Paper long abstract:

We have studied soundscape at over 100 rock painting sites in Finland and an exceptionally good echo appears to characterize the majority of these sites. One of the fascinating features of the soundscape is the reverberation or echoing created by singing in front of the painted cliff. Often it is exactly the richness and accuracy of singing that distinguishes the rock art cliff from many other cliffs nearby.

We present here the results of our fieldwork at the Lammasjärvi rock painting site in Raasepori as a case study. We have measured the acoustics of the site by impulse response measurements and tested their practical impact by singing with the echo of the cliff. Both measurements and the experience by the ear confirm that the echo responds directly from the painted cliff. We have also produced graphical sound analysis plots that show how the cliff responds to the singing by reflecting or reproducing accurately every tone and overtone - the cliff is literally singing the song with the singer. The experience of this can indeed feel magical on a quiet lake, even when the laws of physics are known for the listener.

Rock art sites in Finland resemble in many ways old Sámi sacred sieidi sites. We know from the historical accounts that echo has been an important feature in choosing a sieidi and that singing has been central part of ceremonies. An exceptionally good echo and reverberation of

singing suggest similar acoustic ceremonies at rock art sites as well.