The eerie, terrifying effect of the mysterious Aztec “death whistles” on listeners have fascinated researchers.
Popularly known as death whistles, they are skull-shaped and produce a frightening scream-like hissing sound. They were most likely used in rituals related to death and human sacrifice by people during the Mesoamerican period.
They are also called skull whistles, which is a more accurate description. A unique characteristic is that the air blown passes through a well of air within a rounded internal chamber. This produces a low, screeching, frightening sound that greatly affects the listener.
These ancient Aztec whistles do not fit in the Western classification of wind instruments. Their strange, scream-like sound has perplexed researchers as to their actual use.
The first skull whistle was found in Mexico City in 1999 in the grave of a 20-year-old man. There were signs the man was the victim of human sacrifice. Since then, many more have been recovered, frequently from burials of sacrifice victims from tombs of the Aztec Empire era, dating from 1250 through 1521.
The first whistle was recovered in the ancient Tlatelolco temple, which was devoted to the Aztec god of wind, Ehecatl, an important deity for the Aztecs. It is possible that the wind-like nature of the sound the whistle produces seems to fit with the idea that its purpose is to communicate with or pay homage to Ehecatl.
Potentially, the skull whistle was used in ceremonies and rituals associated with death much like a mourning instrument for the deceased or as a call to Ehecatl to accept a human sacrifice. It could have even been used as part of a farewell song to the deceased.
Another assumption is that the death whistle was used as a psychological warfare weapon, with the purpose of terrifying the enemy.
How whistles were made and how they were used
The Aztec death whistles were uniquely crafted and made from clay with an approximate size of one to two inches (3 to 5 cm). They had a particular sound production mechanism, which makes them unique. It is certainly an unusual sound tool compared to ancient and contemporary music instruments.
Inside the chamber, there is a collision of various air streams which produce a specific non-linear and noisy sound. It is a shrill, piercing, howling sound when played with intensive air pressure. These artifacts were exclusively developed in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.
However, their purpose remains unknown. There are several assumptions as to their use, but the only reference to the possible ancient use of this type of whistle comes from a text in the book Lewis Spence, Myths of Mexico and Peru, London, 1913:
“The most remarkable festival in connection with Tezcatlipoca was the Toxcatl, held in the fifth month. On the day of this festival a youth was slain who for an entire year previously had been carefully instructed in the role of victim…He assumed the name, garb, and attributes of Tezcatlipoca himself…[as] the earthly representative of the deity…He carried also the whistle symbolical of the deity [as Lord of the Night Wind], and made with it a noise such as the weird wind of night makes when it hurries through the streets.” (Lewis Spence, Myths of Mexico and Peru, London, 1913)
Aztec death whistles have readily been mentioned in media recently, described as the mysterious instruments that produce eerie sounds similar to the sound effects in horror movies or actual human screams.
Scientists try to explain the effect on humans
Scientists have attempted to explain the chilling effect of the Aztec death whistle on humans. According to a study published in the Communications Psychology journal, “Skull whistles can produce softer hiss-like but also aversive and scream-like sounds that were potentially meaningful either for sacrificial practices, mythological symbolism, or intimidating warfare of the Aztecs.”
Musical tools have been used extensively in antiquity for social and ritual procedures, as well as warfare. Mythology is proof of the importance of sound in ceremonies, rituals, and war. From the mythological soothing sound of Orpheus’ lyre to the commanding blows of the Trumpets of Jericho, sound has been important in ancient rituals and ceremonies, as it is today.
What scientists have tried to find, however, is psychoacoustic evidence for the theories surrounding the effect of the skull whistles on people, particularly how human listeners cognitively and affectively respond to skull whistle sounds.
Researchers used psychoacoustic listening and classification experiments which showed that skull whistle sounds are mostly perceived as harsh and terrifying as if they were of a hybrid natural-artificial origin. Their sound attracts attention due to the fact that it is reminiscent of the aversive and startling sounds of nature and technology.
Psychoacoustically classified, the hissing sound of the Aztec death whistle is a hybrid mix of voice and scream, but it originates from technical mechanisms. Using human neuroimaging, the scientists found that skull whistle sounds received a specific decoding of the affective significance in the neural auditory system of human listeners.
This makes these unique whistles sound tools with specific psycho-affective effects on listeners, and Aztec communities might have capitalized on the scary and shrill-like nature of skull whistles.
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