Their new study is revealing the shocking secrets of the Aztec death whistle. A team from the University ... It reminds us that fear itself can be an art form — meticulously crafted ...

Swiss and Norwegian neuroscientists have discovered that the ancient Aztec death whistle — often credited with emitting the scariest sound on earth — still terrifies people today due to a ...

which may also be symbolized in the Aztec death whistle. Their skull-shaped body may represent Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec Lord of the Underworld, and the iconic screaming sound may have prepared ...

But in the forests of central Mexico, a single note from an Aztec whistle didn’t always indicate celebration — it meant death. “Death whistles,” or Aztec skull whistles, were short ...

We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us? The Aztec death whistle is a mesoamerican instrument designed to imitate a human scream, and was often used during battle or at ...

The researchers discovered that the death whistle lit up brain regions associated with emotional responses and with identifying symbolic meaning. Aztec communities may therefore have used the ...

Archaeologists have discovered numerous ceramic or clay whistles at Aztec sites, dubbed "death whistles" because of their distinctive skull shapes. A new paper published in the journal ...

For instance, some experts believe the death whistles were intended to mimic the razor-sharp winds of Mictlan, the Aztec underworld to which sacrificial tributes were believed to descend.