Ancient rock artists were drawn to echo chambers. members of early farming communities in europe painted images in rock-shelters where sound bounced off walls and in to the surrounding countryside, researchers say. rock-shelters lacking such sound effects were passed up, at least in the central mediterranean, report archaeologist margarita diaz-andrew of the university of barcelona and colleagues in the july journal of archaeological science. in landscapes with many potential rock art sites, 'the few shelters chosen to be painted were those that have special acoustic properties,' diaz-andreu says. some hunter-gatherer and farming groups studied over the past couple centuries believed in spirits that dwell in rock and reveal their presence via echoes. but acoustic evidence of
of special echoing properties at rock art sites is rare diaz-andreu's team studied two rock art in 2015 and 2016. baume brune is a kilometer-long cliff in southeastern france. of 43 naturally formed cavities in the cliff, only eight containing painting, which include treelike and horned animals. rock art in valle d'ividoro, on italy's east coast, appesrs in an 800 meter long section of a gorge only three of its 11 natural
