Editing Cave (section)

==Caves and acoustics==
[[File:Grotta azzurra.capri.JPG|thumb|[[Blue Grotto (Capri)|Blue Grotto]], [[Capri]], [[Italy]]]]

The importance of sound in caves predates a modern understanding of acoustics. Archaeologists have uncovered relationships between paintings of dots and lines, in specific areas of resonance, within the caves of Spain and France, as well as instruments depicting paleolithic motifs,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fazenda |first1=Bruno |title=Cave acoustics in prehistory: Exploring the association of Palaeolithic visual motifs and acoustic response |journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |date=September 11, 2017 |volume=142 |issue=1332 |pages=1332–1349 |doi=10.1121/1.4998721 |pmid=28964077 |bibcode=2017ASAJ..142.1332F |doi-access=free }}</ref> indicators of musical events and rituals. Clusters of paintings were often found in areas with notable acoustics, sometimes even replicating the sounds of the animals depicted on the walls. The human voice was also theorized to be used as an echolocation device to navigate darker areas of the caves where torches were less useful.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Whipps |first1=Heather |title=Turns out, cavemen loved to sing |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25516181/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/turns-out-cavemen-loved-sing/#.XpOWOi-ZN-U |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522022117/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25516181/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/turns-out-cavemen-loved-sing#.XpOWOi-ZN-U |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 May 2015 |date=July 3, 2008}}</ref> Dots of red ochre are often found in spaces with the highest resonance, where the production of paintings was too difficult.<ref>{{cite news |title=Music Went With Cave Art In Prehistoric Caves |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080704130439.htm |date=July 5, 2008 |ref=American Institute of Physics}}</ref>

Caves continue to provide usage for modern-day explorers of acoustics. Today [[Cumberland Caverns]] provides one of the best examples for modern musical usages of caves. The caves are utilized not only for reverberation, but for the dampening qualities of their abnormal faces as well. The irregularities in the walls of the Cumberland Caverns diffuse sounds bouncing off the walls and give the space an almost recording studio-like quality.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farmer |first1=Blake |title=Cumberland Caverns: A Subterranean Concert Venue In Tennessee |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/08/11/431512181/cumberland-caverns-a-subterranean-concert-venue-in-tennessee |date=August 11, 2015}}</ref> During the 20th century musicians began to explore the possibility of using caves as locations as clubs and concert halls, including the likes of [[Dinah Shore]], [[Roy Acuff]], and [[Benny Goodman]].{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Unlike today, these early performances were typically held in the mouths of the caves, as the lack of technology made depths of the interior inaccessible with musical equipment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parton |first1=Chris |title=Why Brandi Carlile, Steve Earle and More Are Performing in a Tennessee Cave |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/why-brandi-carlile-steve-earle-and-more-are-performing-in-a-tennessee-cave-629847/ |website=RollingStone |date=4 June 2018 |access-date=June 4, 2018}}</ref> In [[Luray Caverns]], Virginia, a functioning [[organ (music)|organ]] has been developed that generates sound by mallets striking stalactites, each with a different pitch.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm1_aCjrC5o | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211124/vm1_aCjrC5o| archive-date=2021-11-24 | url-status=live|title=Real Live Cave Music: Marvel at the World's Largest Instrument | website=[[YouTube]]| date=3 February 2016|access-date=May 5, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>