The Bacinete Main Shelter: A Prehistoric Theatre?

In the last few years, archaeoacoustic studies of rock art sites and landscapes have undergone significant growth as a result of renewed interest in the intangible aspects of the archaeological record. This article focuses on the acoustic study carried out in the rock art complex of Bacinete, Cádiz (Spain). After describing the archaeological site and its importance, a representative set of monaural and spatial IRs gathered onsite is thoroughly analysed to explore the hypothesis that the sonic component of the site played an important role in how prehistoric people interacted with it. Additionally, we briefly discuss the challenges of analysing the acoustics of open-air spaces following the recommendations of the ISO 3382-1 guidelines, a standard developed not for open-air spaces, but for room acoustics. The results obtained confirm the favourable acoustic conditions of the Bacinete main shelter for speech transmission. The different subjective acoustic impressions obtained in a somewhat similar shelter located nearby, Bacinete III, are also explained, alluding to a lesser degree of intimacy felt in the latter.