Ancestral sound. Archive and study of pre-hispanic Ecuadorian sound objects

This doctoral thesis explores the archaeomusicology of pre-Hispanic Ecuador, with a special focus on the archiving and analysis of ancient sound objects. It stems from curiosity about the sound/musical activities in pre-Hispanic societies, addressing a notable gap in previous research. Historically, the study of ancient sound objects has progressed very slowly, largely due to the lack of advanced technology and available digital repositories. This thesis aims to overcome this deficiency by establishing a digital archive that documents recordings, spectrograms, and quantitative and qualitative information of these objects, primarily from three Ecuadorian collections: the Museum of Anthropology and Contemporary Art, the Casa del Alabado Museum, and the Pumapungo Museum. The underlying premise is that the absence of a well-founded digital repository has hindered progress in this field of study in Ecuador. In turn, it aims to establish a new experimental methodology for the study of ancient sound objects.