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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...