Recent research of the sounds of ancient Aztec skull-shaped whistles revealed their profound psychoacoustic effects on modern listeners. For the first time, scientists have examined the impact of ...

Ancient Aztec communities from the pre-Columbian period of Mesoamerica had a rich mythological codex that was also part of their ritual and sacrificial ceremonies,” researchers said.

In digging up ancient Aztec graves dating from the years 1250 to 1521 AD, archaeologists have found many examples of small whistles made of clay and formed into the shape of a skull. These ...

ANCIENT Aztec ‘death whistles’ have a strange ‘uncanny valley’-style effect on the human brain, new research has found. These clay instruments were often shaped like human s… ...

The Aztecs created the small 1.2 to 2-inch-long (3 to 5 centimeters) skull-shaped whistles out of clay, possibly to represent Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec lord of the underworld.

But the basic mechanisms of affective response to scary sounds are common to humans from all historical contexts." Communications Psychology, 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s44271-024-00157-7 ( About DOIs ).