Cognitive Digital Archaeomusicology: Exploring subjective perception of indigenous sacred sites using 3D VR reconstructions and eye tracking

This project brings together concepts and techniques from cognitive science, musicology, acoustics, archaeology and the study of language. Two existing research groups at the University of Helsinki join forces to investigate the role of sound (and sight) at archaeological sacred sites of indigenous peoples in the north of Finland. By digitally recreating the visual and acoustic scenes in immersive virtual reality (VR) and using naive participants and a combination of acoustic synthesis and eye tracking methodologies, we will expire quantitatively the subjective impression at the sites of "sounds emanating from the painted figures". Perception indexed by eye tracking is compared to the measured acoustics and geometric layout, to provide new insights into the significance of sound rituals at the studied sacred sites.