What was this Aztec device known as the Death Whistle used for?
Why did we choose this?
Imagine you are heading into battle and in the distance you hear hundreds of people screaming in pain. Would this be a reason to flee?
A piece of history has raised hundreds of doubts and theories over the last decades as to its true purpose. What is it and what was it for?
In 1999, a group of historians discovered an artifact that differed from some finds from the 1960s and 1970s. It was a small skull-shaped piece found next to the remains of a young man, approximately 20 years old, who would have been part of a sacrifice hundreds of years ago during the Postclassic Period at an Aztec temple at the Tlatelolco site in Mexico City.
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What was considered for a long time, only a relic of the Aztecs, is today a piece that still generates doubts and theories regarding its true purpose. This piece would be a whistle, which when blown would replicate the frightening scream of a person.
Some of the most relevant theories say that the Aztec warriors used these whistles simultaneously before a combat, simulating hundreds or thousands of cries of suffering, to scare away their enemies.
Some also mention that the sound it produced, simulated ‘the atmospheric noise generated by the wind’, so it would be used for rituals regarding the god of the wind. However, most historians have come to a different conclusion.
Due to the context in which they have been found and the small amount that has been discovered, it is believed to have been part of rituals or religious ceremonies as a way of warding off evil spirits and guiding them to the afterlife.
As the years have gone by and archaeologists have tried to make the artifact more important, attempts have been made to replicate the whistle, mostly in an attempt to achieve the terrifying sound.
Should you buy it?
Today you can find different replicas varying in sound, design and volume.
ZBOSS by ITZCOEHUA, has one of the most known replicas, and is one of the most outstanding due to its handmade designs that seek to replicate the original designs, dimensions and sound.
We think that if you would like to have a unique item and a good topic of conversation, buying a Death Whistle is a good idea. Just please don't use it to scare innocent people. Find yours here.
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