The Aztec Death Whistle: A Scream from the Underworld

The Aztec death whistles are a menacing artifact. They are skull-shaped and emit an eerie, high-pitched screeching sound similar to a scream. Not only that, but these objects are commonly found with the remains of sacrifice victims dating from 1250-1521 AD. There presence in these sites suggests that they could have been used in ancient rituals and ceremonies related to the dead.

The first notable discovery of an Aztec death whistle occurred in 1999 during the excavation of an Aztec temple at the Tlatelolco site in Mexico City, where archaeologists found the remains of a 20-year-old sacrificial victim clutching two skull-shaped whistles.

These clay instruments, typically 1.2 to 2 inches (3 to 5 centimeters) long, produce a chilling, scream-like sound described as a cross between a deathly scream and a gale-force howl.

Instruments with a mysterious purpose

The exact purpose of the death whistle remains uncertain, though theories suggest it was used during human sacrifices to prepare victims for Mictlan, the Aztec underworld, or to invoke Ehecatl, the god of wind and rain, during ceremonies.

Others believe the whistles guided the spirits of the dead or, when played together, induced infrasonic vibrations capable of altering states of consciousness. Representing Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the underworld and death, the whistles likely held deep symbolic meaning within Aztec mythology and rituals.

While some speculate they were used to terrify enemies in battle, no archaeological evidence supports this claim, and the primary context for these instruments appears to be ceremonial, particularly in relation to death and sacrifice.

The psychological impact of the Aztec death whistles

Scientists have found that Ancient Aztec death whistles have a strange psycho-acoustic effect on the mind, further explaining their use. Recent brain scan studies show that the sound triggers responses associated with fear and urgency, attributed to the whistle’s unique “chaos chamber” design.

A team of scientists, who published their paper in the journal Communications Psychology, wanted to see how people react to the sound produced by the clashing airwaves in the whistle. The results they found were astonishing, as the artifacts produce a chilling effect in the mind.

In their research, the team employed various techniques to record their subject’s neurological and psychological reactions to the whistle noise. They obtained two recordings of the original death whistles and split the sound files up. Then, using 3D-imaging from CT scans of the original artifacts, they created ancient Aztec death whistle replicas. They used both imaging and audio to reproduce the most accurate death whistle noise possible.

The researchers found that the disturbing noise emitted from the whistles had an effect on the brain that can be likened to high-alert. Brain activity in the audio cortex of the brain was staggering. Not only that, but the team was able to deduce that the mind had a hard time placing the sound, which contributes to the heightened brain activity reaction as the brain tries to piece what is happening together.

After the subjects heard the noise, they were then asked to describe what their feelings were towards it. The participants said they experienced negative feelings like feeling “frightened.” They also mentioned that the noise felt “assertive.”