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Prehistoric cave paintings, canyon art and structures such as Stonehenge may have been inspired by 'spooky sounds', a scientist has claimed.

Dr Steven Waller thinks that sound waves reflecting off a cliff face or cave wall produced echoes that may have been interpreted by our ancestors as voices calling within the rock.

He used acoustic measurements so show the link between prehistoric rock sites and strong echoes.

Spirited painting? Prehistoric cave paintings, canyon art and structures such as Stonehenge may have been inspired by spooky sounds, a scientist has claimed. A prehistoric cave painting in India is pictured

Dr Waller, who is based in La Mesa, California, has studied acoustic archaeology around the world and says that echoes of clapping could sound similar to hoof beats or a herd of stampeding animals.

'Many ancient cultures attributed thunder in the sky to "hoofed thunder gods," so it makes sense that the reverberation within the caves was interpreted as thunder and inspired paintings of those same hoofed thunder gods on cave walls,' he said.

'This theory is supported by acoustic measurements, which show statistically significant correspondence between the rock art sites and locations with the strongest sound reflection.'

Rock music: Dr Waller said that Stonehenge (pictured) may be linked to the haunting effects of sound interference patterns. He believes this may have influenced the positioning of the Stonehenge rock slabs

Speaking at the Acoustical Society of America's annual meeting in Indianapolis, Dr Waller said that Stonehenge and other megalithic sites may be linked to the haunting effects of sound interference patterns.

He believes this may have influenced the positioning of the Stonehenge rock slabs.

To test his theory, he played the same droning note on two flutes in an open field.

'The quiet regions of destructive sound wave cancellation, in which the high pressure from one flute cancelled the low pressure from the other flute, gave blindfolded subjects the illusion of a giant ring of rocks or "pillars" casting acoustic shadows,' he said.

'My theory that musical interference patterns served as blueprints for megalithic stone circles - many of which are called Pipers' Stones - is supported by ancient legends of two magic pipers who enticed maidens to dance in a circle and turned them all into stones.'

He explained that even today, sounds can be used to manipulate a person's perception of the world around them and lead to illusions inconsistent with scientific reality.

Dr Waller thinks this phenomenon has interesting practical applications for virtual reality and special effects in entertainment media.

'Sound, which is invisible and has complex properties, can easily lead to auditory illusions of the supernatural,' he said.

'This, in turn, leads to the more general question: what other illusions are we living under due to other phenomena that we are currently misinterpreting?' 

Dr Waller has studied acoustic archaeology around the world and says that echoes of clapping could sound similar to hoof beats or a herd of stampeding animals. A painting of bull-like creatures in Lascaux Cave, France is pictured. The cave contains some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art, painted 17,300 years ago

ROCK OF AGES: RESEARCHERS SAY STONHENGE'S BLUESTONES 'SING'

The stones at Stonehenge could have been 'played' like a giant xylophone, a study claimed in March.

Researchers spent months tapping pieces of stone onto 1,000 types of rock and recording the sound they made.

Most produced a muted 'thud', but bluestones from the Preseli hills in south Wales – where the monoliths are thought to have originated – 'sing' when struck.

Their 'exceptional sonic nature' may explain why Neolithic man carted the stones 200 miles to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire more than 4,000 years ago to build Stonehenge.

It may also shed light on their circle formation, with sound resonating among the stones when they were 'played'.

Rock music: The stones at Stonehenge could have been 'played' like a giant xylophone, a study claimed in March. Researchers spent months tapping pieces of stone onto 1,000 types of rock and recording the sound they made

The startling conclusion was the result of a study by experts at the Royal College of Art rather than by archaeologists.

They were even granted access to Stonehenge itself to play the structures like a giant xylophone, where they confirmed the rocks made a range of metallic sounds like bells, gongs and tin drums.

Paul Devereux, who led the study with Jon Wozencroftfrom, said: The one thing that hasn't been considered until now is that sound may have been an important factor.

'We found it was a noteworthy soundscape, with a significant percentage of the actual rocks making metallic sounds like bells, gongs, tin drums, etc, when tapped with small, handheld "hammerstones".

'We have had percussionists up here who have been able to actually get proper tunes out of the rocks. This is real rock music.'

The research team tested rocks from 1,000 different locations from around the UK to test their sonic abilities.

They found that bluestones from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, sounded like no other.

English Heritage allowed the team to acoustically test the bluestones at Stonehenge, effectively playing them like a huge instrument.

To the researchers' surprise, several were found to make distinctive, if muted sounds, with several of the rocks showing evidence of having already been struck.

The stones make different pitched noises in different places and different stones make different noises - ranging from a metallic to a wooden sound.