Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are studying an Inca building from the mid-15th century that has a peculiar structure. It has three walls and an opening at one end, and they believe it was designed with the specific intention of amplifying sounds. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The building is known as the carpa uasi , a name that means “tent house”, which is a reference to its open-ended side. It is thought to be the only structure like this in existence, and while known for many years, its potential as a sound amplifier had never been identified until now.

The new work puts forward the hypothesis that the design of the building had specific acoustic properties. The sound of drum

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