The Sounding Museum

Towards an Auditory Anthropology

Abstract

Based on the authors’ field experiences, one of anthropology’s main theoretical reflections in the past decade is used here as a starting point: the relations between humans and non-humans. It reveals that the role of sound is paramount within the Amerindian ontology named animism, especially if compared to Western naturalism and its visual primacy. Consequently, we propose an auditory anthropology as a theoretical concept, underpinned by further examples from the field. Finally, the practical application of an auditory anthropology is discussed. Researchers may make use of cultural soundscape composition in order to supply a museum’s audience with a means to listen to the manifold cultures of the world.