Adje Both – The Teotihuacan Sound Mapping Project: exploring the sonic sphere of the City of the Gods (Mexico)

ABSTRACT:The Teotihuacan Sound Mapping Project explores the role that sound and music played in the urban environment of the archaeological UNESCO World Heritage site, situated in the Central Highlands of Mexico. The sound tools and musical instruments of Teotihuacanare studied, recreated and played in different architectural settings of the site. Subsequently, the instrumental and architectural acoustics are analyzed.3D models of the instruments are given to composers and musicians in order to create individual sound images of the site. Finally, with the aid of geo-referenced sound mapping and multimedia applications, a virtual sound-map of the siteand a soundwalk event for the visitors is being created.This lecture will give an introduction into the diverse activities related with the project and sum up the current state of research.