Digital Preservation and Access to Aural Heritage Via A Scalable, Extensible Method

 

Aural heritage encompasses human auditory and sound-sensing perspectives on cultural heritage sites and materials. Aural heritage research explores and documents acoustical experiences, particularly of the built environment.

"The term aural heritage calls attention to the ways that humans perceive, understand, and interpret sound relative to particular settings, inclusive of deaf and hearing sound-sensing perspectives. Social contextualization further informs how acoustics facilitate communication; thus, we prioritize the integration of experimental sonic research with historical and archaeological knowledge." (Kolar et al. 2019)

Aural heritage can be considered a form of intangible heritage (as defined by UNESCO) because spatial acoustics enable and influence diverse forms of human communication and expression.

We are developing tools and resources for this novel and overlooked area of cultural heritage preservation and access.

Best-practice recommendations are discussed in our web-based tutorials.