“Death whistles,” or Aztec skull whistles, were short, carved instruments made of two opposing chambers where air could clash ...
Archaeologists have discovered numerous ceramic or clay whistles at Aztec sites, dubbed "death whistles" because of their distinctive skull shapes. A new paper published in the journal ...
But in the forests of central Mexico, a single note from an Aztec whistle didn’t always indicate celebration — it meant death. “Death whistles,” or Aztec skull whistles, were short ...
The researchers discovered that the death whistle lit up brain regions associated with emotional responses and with identifying symbolic meaning. Aztec communities may therefore have used the ...