ulstermuseum stone age art image:41379:1::0

An archaeological revelation suggests that about 12,000 years ago, in the stone age, in France, paintings in caves are located in the most acoustically resonant places where sound reverberates and lingers.
It is also being theorized that the first cathedrals, concert halls and theatres were perhaps inspired by musical performances in these caves.

It was Iegor Reznikoff of the University of Paris who established this connection between music in art. He said," The first time i happened to be in a prehistoric cave, I tried the resonance in various parts of the cave, and quickly the question arose: Is there a relation between resonance and locations of the paintings?"(ANI)

In order to test this theory, Reznikoff sang and hummed within various corners of prominent French Caves containing prehistoric art, including Niauk and Le portel in Ariege, and Arcy-sur-Cure in Burgandy.

The sound checks brought him to three conclusions. Firstly, most pictures were located either in or very close to resonate locations. Secondly, the density of the pictures is proportional to the intensity of that area's resonance. And finally, resonant areas that were difficult to paint on, like narrow passageways were marked with red lines. This final conclusion suggests that cave dwellers investigated the caves for resonance and musicality before starting any painting.

Reznikoff's investigations might even help explain why bone flutes were found near caves containing stone age art.
According to David Lubman of the Acoustical Society of America, future studies shall support Reznikoff's theories with scientific evidence, as reported by ANI, he said, " It is possible that all of today's music could have resulted from an ingrained human memory of the acoustical properties of caves."