Listen To The "Shriek Of Death" Made By These Mysterious Skull-Shaped Aztec Whistles

[Judi Lynn]

While excavating an ancient temple within the ruins of the Aztec city-state of Tlatelolco in 1999, archaeologists discovered a 500-year-old skeleton buried with two mysterious objects in his hands: clay whistles resembling skulls. The significance of these instruments was unknown, but one thing was certain, the sounds they produced were chilling.

One scholar associated with the Mexico City dig described the noise to Gizmodo as “a shriek of death”, in an interview for their Sound Mysteries series.

Other examples of these “death whistles” have been found at several other ancient Mesoamerican sites associated with the Aztec culture, with the first official description in 1971 by historian José Luis Franco. But, according to Roberto Velázquez Cabrera, a mechanical engineer who specializes in the history and reconstruction of such instruments, none had ever been unearthed alongside other objects, let alone human remains, that could help clarify the whistle’s purpose through context.

So, for many decades, these objects were treated as mere curiosities, packed off to languish in museum storage based on the assumption that they were long ago-discarded toys rather than important spiritual relics.

More:
http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/listen-to-the-shriek-of-death-made-by-these-mysterious-skullshaped-aztec-whistles/

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Thanks.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Hear the Aztec 'Death Whistle' That Mystified Scientists

By Rose Pastore on 31 Jul 2018 at 2:00AM

In the 1990s, archaeologists in Mexico City unearthed a 500-year-old skeleton near an ancient Aztec temple — a victim of human sacrifice. A grisly discovery, yes, but perhaps even more chilling was what the beheaded skeleton was holding: two small whistles, one in the shape of a skull. When a researcher blew into one of the tiny instruments, the horrifying sounds that emerged immediately captivated imaginations. One scholar described the noise as “a shriek of death.”

The dreadful, high-pitched sound of the whistle is perhaps most comparable to a human scream. “There are different air streams generated within the structure of these instruments, which then diametrically hits against each other,” said Arnd Adje Both, a music archaeologist who has examined the whistle. “And thus the Aztecs were able to produce a very shrill and noisy sound.”

The true purpose of these artefacts has baffled experts. Were they used to terrorise enemies in warfare? Aztec warriors were known to beat wooden drums as they advanced into battle — might they also have blown these ghastly whistles? “You can imagine the frightening sound if you had 200 or 300 or 5,000 warriors blowing these instruments,” said Jaime Arredondo, an art historian and professor of Mesoamerican and Latino studies at New York University. “That would be extremely intimidating.”

Another theory gave the instruments a more peaceful purpose. They may have been used to induce trances as part of healing rituals — rather than to terrify, the whistle may have been used to bring comfort.

More:
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2018/07/hear-the-aztec-death-whistle-that-mystified-scientists/