Aztecs used pipes as an instrument of power
The Aztec skull whistle produces a shrill, scream-like sound. A study by the University of Zurich shows that this whistle has a frightening effect on the human brain.
Many ancient cultures used musical instruments for ritual ceremonies. The Aztec communities of the pre-Columbian period in Central America had a rich mythology that was celebrated in rituals and sacrificial ceremonies. Visual and sound elements symbolized mythological beings from the Aztec underworld. The Aztec death pipe with its skull-shaped body seems to represent the Aztec ruler of the underworld and its scream-like sound could have prepared the human sacrifices for their descent into the underworld of Mictlan.
In order to understand the physical mechanisms behind the shrill, screeching whistling sound, a team of researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) led by Sascha Frühholz, Professor of Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, has created digital 3D reconstructions of original Aztec death whistles from the Ethnological Museum in Berlin. These models show a unique internal construction with two opposing sound chambers that generate air turbulence and thus the shrill sound.
Original article:
https://www.news.uzh.ch/de/articles/media/2024/Totenkopfpfeiffe.html
