Video1 : Drumming in the Evening
This video brings to life a drumming performance at the Siliävuori rock art site in Luumäki, Finland, about 5,000 years ago. The painted rock cliff rising directly from the lake responds to drumming with echoes. Rock art sites with images of animals, humans, boats and even drummers are believed to have been ritual sites for prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherers.
The audiovisual digital recreation was made in collaboration between cognitive scientists, musicologists, archaeologists and artists, using terrestrial and aerial laser scans, spherical photography, spatial impulse response recordings, dry studio recordings and convolution. The work was part of the Academy of Finland funded project ”Acoustics and auditory culture at hunter-gatherer rock art sites in Northern Europe, Siberia and North America” (2018–2023) at the University of Helsinki.
Video & sound design: Paavo Rinkkala Drumming: Mikko Heikinpoika Virtual reality reconstruction: Paavo Rinkkala, Jami Pekkanen Impulse response recording & photography: Riitta Rainio, Kai Lassfolk LiDAR scanning: Jari Okkonen Rendering software: Unreal Engine 5.1 Drum & drumstick model: Paavo RinkkalaMesolithic canoe model: Carolien Bijvoet Night sky: NASA Deep Star Maps 2020 Foliage: Nature Package by SilverTm Bird sounds: YleArkistoStudio recording: Paavo Rinkkala, Riitta RainioStudio: University of Helsinki Music Research Laboratory & Electronic Music Studio
Video 2: Echoes at Siliävuori in Three Stages
This video brings to life a singing performance at the Siliävuori rock art site in Luumäki, Finland, about 5,000 years ago. At first, the song is heard as recorded in the studio, without the acoustics of the place. Next, the painted rock cliff rising directly from the lake responds to the song with an echo. Eventually, the echoes from the whole environment are heard joining in. Rock art sites with images of animals, humans and boats are believed to have been ritual sites for prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherers.
The audiovisual digital recreation was made in collaboration between cognitive scientists, musicologists, archaeologists and artists, using terrestrial and aerial laser scans, spherical photography, spatial impulse response recordings, dry studio recordings and convolution. The work was part of the Academy of Finland funded project ”Acoustics and auditory culture at hunter-gatherer rock art sites in Northern Europe, Siberia and North America” (2018–2023) at the Univer...