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| Figure 1: Aztec Death Whistle (Source: Rodriquez, 2010) |
The Aztec civilization is well known due to extensive archaeological study and ethnohistorical records as recorded by the Spanish conquistadors who conquered them. While the Aztecs maintained one of the last empires in Central America and practiced a fairly egalitarian society they are often best known for their extensive sacrificial rituals, which were closely tied to their religion. Today’s blog post addresses a more recent discovery concerning an additional dimension of their sacrificial rituals, specifically the discovery and interpretation of what is now referred to as the Aztec death whistle (Figure 1).
The Aztec death whistle was initially discovered in 1999 at the site of Tlatelolco in modern day Mexico City, which is built upon the ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. This artifact was found between the hands of a sacrificial victim who was sacrificed to the Aztec wind god, Ehecatl. The artifact is described as a small clay flute carved into the shape of a human skull with holes in the back and front, specifically through the nose of the skull.
Initially, scholars dismissed this item as a toy and did not examine it further. It was not until 15 years later through accident that the artifact received new attention. Roberto Velasquez decided to blow into the back hole of the flute (as the front holes were too small to produce sound) and discovered that this produced the most eerie of sounds, which have been described as being reminiscent of human screams or extreme howling winds.
This has led Velazquez and others to hypothesize as to the exact purpose of this flute, which was subsequently named the Aztec Death Whistle. Due to its initial associations (with a sacrificial victim) there exist two prevailing hypotheses, both related to each other. Unsurprisingly, both hypotheses are related to Aztec sacrifices, which took place to satiate the Aztec gods’ need for blood to continue to survive and provide a hospital environment for humans to exist in. One hypothesis is that Aztecs used the Death Whistle to signal the beginning of their Flowery Wars, which were battles waged for the specific purpose of collecting sacrificial victims (and that individuals voluntarily participated in as a death in battle or by sacrifice meant automatic entry into an afterlife of paradise). The other hypothesis puts forward the idea that sacrificial victims played the flute before being sacrificed.
At the present time it is unclear what the specific purpose of the Aztec Death Whistle was, and thus far this is the only such whistle/flute discovered. The current hypotheses may not be accurate as skull motifs were common throughout Aztec art. It will be interesting to see if additional discoveries of more whistles are made and how they may clarify the specific meaning and purpose of this artifact.
References
Ahn, I.-S., Bae, S.-G., & Bae, M.-J. (2021). A Study on the Similarity between the Strange Whistle and Screams of Human. International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, 147-151.
Velazquez, R. (2010). Death Whistle. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
Westmaas, R. (2019, August 1). The Aztec Death Whistle Makes One of the Scariest Sounds You'll Ever Hear. Retrieved from Discovery: https://www.discovery.com/nature/Aztec-Death-Whistle
11 comments:
Khalil Foster
It's weird that they have the "death whistle" but we haven't been able to find any other whistles or flutes from them. Since the sound was eerie I think it was meant as a warning of an attack
terrifying instrument of religion and warfare, the Death Whistle was used by the ancient Aztecs to summon spirits and spread terror and terror wherever they went.
How is it that we can't find no other whistles and other flutes from them... It was too many warnings meaning attacks were coming and it was very eerie and an odd sound.
- Jada Watkins
Sabthana R.
The concept of a death whistle is something that intrigues me yet kind of creeps me out to an extent. While the usage for it has not been set in stone, the hypotheses that have been given seem very plausible to me. Another theory that I believe that whistle was used for scaring away predators and threats, or even maybe a warning call to let others know that a threat is coming.
I have always thought that the Aztecs were so interesting, their culture and really the whole ancient world's fascination with sacrifice was always so interesting to me. I am very interested in the sound that this whistle makes, I wonder if I can find a video online to hear what it sounds like. I wonder how they made a whistle that replicated the sounds of human screams. I wonder why they would have the person being sacrificed play this whistle before being sacrificed if that is indeed the purpose, or maybe this whistle was specific to the person being sacrificed?
The discovery of the “ death whistle” is pretty interesting. Based upon its design and how they discovered it. It is something to learn about regarding this culture. It tells a story of how they did things such as sacrifices and war back then. Which is something new to me. I will be doing more research regarding the death whistle and its many uses. I would also like to hear how it sounds, even though it sounds creepy. Especially since it is to be believed to sound like humans screaming.
I have heard of the Aztec death whistle before it is very interesting that the sound it produced was discovered by accident but a good thing as it opened new doors of research of Aztec culture and their religion. Renn Bullard
I wish I did not click the link for the eerie sound because it was creepy. It does sound like a person screaming, and it is comical that the sound was not noticed until fifteen years after its discovery. I wonder why the previous scholars did not think to blow into it and what made Roberto Velasquez decide to do so. -Tala Caples
I always find learned about the Aztec civilization to be so interesting. They always have so many artifacts to learn about and this is just one of them. To find out that they first didn't examine it and it was not until 15 years later they reviewed it is interesting and I'm glad it was reviewed so we know this artifact and its usage. It is weird that there has not been any other whistles or flutes discovered but I feel like there have to be more out there but either way the death whistles still has an eerie ring to it and warning like. With that said maybe it was the only made, who knows.
- Keira Robinson
The eerie sound produced by the whistle, described as reminiscent of human screams or howling winds, adds a haunting dimension to our understanding of Aztec beliefs and ceremonies. Your discussion of the hypotheses surrounding the purpose of the death whistle highlights the ongoing quest to unravel the mysteries of the past.
-Ahmesha Johnson
I found this blog post very interesting, detailing interesting discoveries and interpretations of Aztec “death flutes”. I was particularly amazed that despite its discovery in 1999, it was initially considered just a toy. The fact that it was later reevaluated by chance and found to produce an eerie sound similar to a human scream or the sound of a strong wind is impressive. Much remains a mystery as to what rituals and purposes these sound-producing flutes were used for, but the hypothesis that they had something to do with Aztec religious rituals and warfare is very compelling. Whether these were mere ornaments or tools deeply involved in rituals is a matter of great anticipation for further discovery. I felt that learning about the process of unraveling the mysteries of the Aztec civilization was very significant from both an anthropological and historical perspective.
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