[Aztlan] Chavín de Huántar Archaeological Acoustics Project

[Sid Hollander]

I am for investigation!  Probably the Germans don't do this is because they
think about ROI (return on investment). They probably look at funding and
doing acoustical studies based upon what they can learn so they consider the
following questions:

If we wanted to know what the music really sounded like in the distant past
we could probably spend x units of currency to make a very real
iinvestigation that would be the envy of any institution.  We would have to
consider the age of materials, degradation etc to get the precision
desired.  Would the effort be worth while? Would we be guaranteed that the
sound would be 'pure'.  Do we know or have an idea of how their (the people
we are investigating) Kenny G tooted his trumpet.  Better still,  do we know
the score?.. do we have their music? What are the alternatives? A less
expensive alternative would be to take a Kenny G. record down there with a
recorder and get the idea. For me I don't care which way you go.  If it is
important to 'know' how sounds would have sounded in certain environments,
"go for it".  As a matter of fact do both..a parallel study in the name of
acoustical investigation to find the best way (dollar for dollar) to
investigate such things.  But when you are finished and have the sounds (and
little else) don't tell me that the people you investigated were expert
acoustical engineers (or for that matter, were NOT expert  acoustical
engineers).

P.S. Anybody have Maya tapes or CDs.. I am signing up for a Maya course that
starts mid Feb.  I need a crutch..the class is taught in Spanish and I have
not mastered that in 17 years here.  Ayuda mi.

-- 
Sid Hollander
Merida, Yucatan
The book of nature is written in mathematical symbols…. Galileo