Archaeoacoustics is a sub-field of archaeology and acoustics which studies the relationship between people and sound throughout history. It is an interdisciplinary field with methodological contributions from acoustics, archaeology, and computer simulation, and is broadly related to topics within cultural anthropology such as experimental archaeology and ethnomusicology. Since many cultures have sonic components, applying acoustical methods to the study of archaeological sites and artifacts may reveal new information on the civilizations examined. Disciplinary methodology As the study of archaeoacoustics is concerned with a variety of cultural phenonemena, the methodologies depend on the subject of inquiry. The majority of archaeoacoustic studies can be grouped into either a study of artefacts (like musical instruments) or places (buildings or sites). For archaeological or historical sites that still exist in the present day, measurement methods from the realm of architectural acoustics may be used to characterise the behaviour of the site's acoustic field. When sites have been altered from their original state, a mixed-methodology approach may be used where acoustic measurements are combined with virtual reconstructions and simulations. The output of these simulations may be used to auralize the historic state of the site, to aide in an analysis based in the principles of psychoacoustics. For archaeological objects, acoustic measurements and simulations may be used to investigate the possible acoustic behaviour of artifacts found at a site, as in the case of an acoustic jar. In a similar vein, the relationship between cultural uses of a space and artifacts found within it can be examined experimentally, as with lithophones and ringing rocks. Notable applications Natural formations Iegor Reznikoff and Michel Dauvois studied the prehistoric painted caves of France, and found links between the artworks' positioning and acoustic effects. An AHRC project headed by Rupert Till of Huddersfield University, Chris Scarre of Durham University and Bruno Fazenda of Salford University, studies similar relationships in the prehistoric painted caves in northern Spain. More recently, archaeologists Margarita Díaz-Andreu, Carlos García Benito and Tommaso Mattioli have undertaken work on rock art landscapes in Italy, France and Spain, paying particular attention to echolocation and augmented audibility of distant sounds that is experienced in some rock art sites. Steven Waller has also studied the links between rock art and sound. Structures and buildings Stonehenge In 1999, Aaron Watson undertook work on the acoustics of numerous archaeological sites, including that of Stonehenge, and investigated numerous chamber tombs and other stone circles.