Capturing Experience through 3D Modeling and Archaeoacoustics in 12th Unnamed Cave, a Dark-Zone Cave Art Site in Tennessee

Summary

This is an abstract from the "(Re) Imagining Rock Art Research" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Recent advances in 3D modeling have allowed archaeologists to explore cave art sites as

dynamic spaces where perception and physical experience played active roles in the formation of

said artwork. In the American Southeast, where caves were and still are seen by many

Indigenous peoples as portals to another spiritual world, 3D reconstructions have much potential

for exploring the relationship between cave art and the ontological perspectives of those who

created it. One such site where the 3D approach has proven effective is 12th Unnamed Cave, a

dark-zone cave art site that consists of several complex passageways with over 300 documented

petroglyphs scattered throughout. By recontextualizing 12th Unnamed Cave as an experiential

space where sight, sound, and movement influence one’s perception of different passageways, it

becomes apparent that rock art images were selectively placed in areas that promote specific

feelings. Through a combination of photogrammetry and archaeoacoustics, a digital 3D model of

12th Unnamed Cave was constructed, through which different experiential variables were

measured in relation to the rock art imagery. Findings suggest that 12th Unnamed Cave’s artists

used rock art to promote a cosmological model where movement through the cave

allowed one to reenact the process of renewal.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• (Re) Imagining Rock Art Research

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51794