Archaeoacoustic analysis of a dolmen on Mount Freddone, Italy

Archaeoacoustic analysis provides a complementary method to understand archaeological sites as opposed to a stand alone methodology. Such analysis however, can provide useful insights in cases where there is little or no historical documentation. In such cases, a medical anthropological approach can exploreany connection between the structure and the interaction with the human physiological can provide insight. This study of a Neolithic dolmen located on a peak in the Apuan Alps, Italy has no historical documentation. A medical anthropological approach was applied to the archaeoacoustic results and compared to a dolmen in Portugal. Subsurface vibrations, which have the effect of entraining the brain into a relaxed state, are present. Indeed, the large dolmen stones act like a transducer distributing strong infrasonic vibrations directly above and below the capstone. In the past this site covered a larger area than that found in the present day; on the opposite side of the mountain lie collapsed stones from another dolmen and a nearby quarry provides evidence of where the stones were mined. Both dolmens are orientated towards the equinox.