Episode 1

A six-week series made in collaboration with the British Library Sound Archive.

Professor David Hendy from the University of Sussex visits the caves of Arcy-sur-Cure in Burgundy with musicologist Iegor Reznikoff to listen to evidence of the mind and beliefs of Neolithic people.

He travels to Ghana to hear the talking drum and explores our relationship with noisy nature.

Orkney's Neolithic sites feel like theatre stages, encouraging us to move through them in unfamiliar ways. Were these the kind of places where our ancestors came to make a spectacular din - or places where they came in search of silence and sensory deprivation?

Finally, David explains how sound - and its manipulation - is central to the shaman's power.

Series Producer: Matt Thompson
A Rockethouse production for BBC Radio 4.