As its name suggests, an Aztec death whistle can make a most dreadful sound. But the effect depends on how it's played, explains musicologist and archaeologist Arnd Adje Both of the Free University of ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." The Aztec death whistle is a mesoamerican instrument designed to imitate a human scream, and was often ...

Its fear-splitting screech reverberates throughout space and time. Swiss and Norwegian neuroscientists have discovered that the ancient Aztec death whistle — often credited with emitting the scariest ...

When the Aztecs dominated central Mexico, a blood-curdling sound like a human scream played through a small whistle. Luis Aceves via Unsplash In cultures around the world, instruments have brought ...

Aztec “skull whistles” found in ancient gravesites were designed to produce shrieking sounds and instil “otherworldly” fear even in modern people, scientists say. Archaeologists have uncovered several ...

The findings support the hypothesis that such whistles may have been used in Aztec religious rituals or perhaps as mythological symbols. Click to expand... Or, given the fear it inflicts on those who ...

We preselected all newsletters you had before unsubscribing.

In cultures around the world, instruments have brought music and joy to rituals, ceremonies and everyday life. But in the forests of central Mexico, a single note from an Aztec whistle didn’t always ...