WORKSHOPS

Imagine standing deep in the forests of Gadchiroli. The air is still, until a strike against stone releases a resonant, drum-like tone that lingers across the landscape. For local communities, such lithophonic stones are not inert geological formations but part of a living sonic and sacred world. This workshop begins from this encounter, using guided narration and immersive listening to explore how sound mediates relationships between humans, environments, and the unseen.

Focusing on South Asia, the session examines acoustic phenomena as a crucial yet underexplored dimension of archaeological interpretation. The echoing granite interiors of the Barabar Caves transform voice into prolonged reverberation, while the musical pillars of the Vijaya Vittala Temple demonstrate sophisticated engagement with the tonal properties of stone. These examples are considered alongside ethnographic research on musical instruments and performance traditions across Indigenous and subaltern communities in India, highlighting continuities and transformations in sound-making practices across time.

Structured as an immersive, guided experience, the workshop combines narration with curated audio-visual material, including field recordings and site-based documentation. Participants will engage in attentive listening to reconstructed soundscapes, enabling reflection on how humans perceive landscapes as relational and acoustically embedded environments rather than isolated material settings. The workshop develops novel approaches to understanding past lifeworlds through sound, foregrounding sensory and ethnographic perspectives as integral to archaeological interpretation.