Paul Devereux

Devereux explores, with scientific instruments, the acoustic properties of Stone Age structures from Stonehenge to Palaeolithic caves, reports on the psychological effects of the acoustics, and speculates about their use in prehistoric ritual.

This book is revolutionary in its view of archaeology; it could easily be mistaken for a "crank" book (the cover is a bit silly and melodramatic) but it is a serious, only mildly controversial book by a proper archaeologist. The author's starting point is so obvious that it says a lot about the prejudices of archaeology that we have taken so long to see it. Our ancestors weren't deaf; we know they made music, they also spoke, sang and chanted. Modern people in traditional cultures all have "non-scientific" attitudes to phenomona like echoes, resonance and reverberation. Modern shamans use and interpret them. Lacking a modern understanding of the science of acoustics, our ancestors would also regard places with impressive and unusual acoustics - especially echoes - as spiritually or supernaturally significant.

Any rocky surface reflects sound. If you've watched BBC's "Coast" you'll have seen a concrete wall in Kent, constructed in the 1930s to magnify the sound of approaching planes, concentrating the sound on one focal point. A rock shelter of the type common all over the world will have similar properties; some better than others. Also high up the list of places with spooky, impressive acoustics are caves, in which the effects are still powerful enough to unnerve modern archaeologists.

Devereux links these phenomena with cave and rock paintings. He looks at the acoustics of artificial structures such as Newgrange, Stonehenge, Waylands Smithy and Maes Howe. He compares these with acoustic phenomena in pre-Columbian American sites, and with the planned acoustics of Greek theatres. He speculates, sensibly rather than in a sensationalist way, about the extent to which these structures were designed to manipulate sound, and about how the early shamans used the acoustics for divination, during trance states, and to impress the uninititated part of the tribe. At every opportunity he draws parallels between his ideas about the past and established knowledge about modern shamanistic practice.

All the places Devereux examines resonate in the pitch of a deep male voice (about 110Hz). Baritone chanting results in a number of extraordinary phenomena, including transmission of sound for long distances through the earth, resonances that magnify the volume and prolong the sound after the human voice has stopped, acoustic patterns which result in localised peaks and troughs of sound, and the generation of "infrasound" at the wavelengths where disturbing and unexpected effects on the human body are felt. Higher-pitched voices (or indeed high-pitched musical instruments), for scientific reasons, cannot produce the same effects. Devereux refers in passing to the fact that this means the shamanistic use of acoustics is restricted to men, but sadly he does not develop this provocative and intriguing line of inquiry.

It took me a while to track this book down and I approached it with relish. The author, while a serious archaeologist whose idea are founded in years of scientific research, is keen to make his book as accessible as possible. He writes without jargon, and notes are at the back, numbered in the text rather than appearing as footnotes. There are photographs and a few sketches, the occasional reproduction of an earlier drawing. It should have been a five star book, but is let down by avoidable flaws.

There are many places where the descriptions of acoustic effects in the text would have been much easier to understand if they had been accompanied by simple diagrams. There are long descriptions of the interiors of cave sytems which cried out for a ground plan. Very few of the many cave paintings referred to are illustrated. What illustrations there are often would benefit from more explanation. There are confusing descriptions of shamnistic harmonies and tunes which would have been lucid with a short passage of musical notation. Moreover, Devereux's writing, though carefully avoiding technical language, lacks ordinary clarity; one has to re-read sections to get what he is driving at, not because the ideas are difficult but because his meaning is obscured by clumsy English.

In addition to these drawbacks, several parts of the text are skated through far too briskly. Where he is citing other people's studies, he gives insufficient detail; just a curt summing up rather than the fuller description this fascinating research deserves. When first published this was a mid-priced book. It would have been worth a few quid more to have a longer, better-written text and more graphics. As it was I was left feeling like someone who has bought a ticket to an exciting event and found themselves seated behind a pillar; able to get most of what is going on, but having to struggle too hard and use my imagination rather too much for proper enjoyment. I will read the book again immediately in the hope of picking up more depth of understanding.

POSTSCRIPT: I have now re-read it, and some of the bits which were hard to fathom the first time round are clearer, but my criticisms remain sadly valid.… (altro)

The air may seem clear enough, and fluffy white clouds on high seem innocent enough; but it is an arena in which parade extraordinary - if rare and transient - phenomena which are currently inexplicable. They are none the less real. The thunder god Thor is a powerful deity and it is from his strange and awesome kingdom that UFOs come forth to confront us.

This book puts forward an interesting theory about the link between geology, prehistoric monuments, the human mind and the appearance of UFOs, which grew on me during the second half of the book. It seems more likely than the ETH anyway.… (altro)

The first part of this book concerns links between landscape features (both man-made and natural) and folklore, while the rest of the book is a gazeteer describing examples in Western Europe, Australia and the Americas.

The corpse roads of Western Europe, which served the practical purpose of allowing outlying communities to carry their dead to the church, became linked with folkore about the ghosts and with necromancy, while in some places beliefs about fairies were so tangled with beliefs about the dead as to be indistinguishable. Further afield, the borders between the territories of Australian Aborigine tribes could be said to be defined by a group's knowledge of the legends, rituals and songs relating to the landscape.

And there is plenty more fascinating information to be found between the covers of this book.… (altro)