Scientists Find Aztec ‘Death Whistles’ do Weird Things to the Listeners’ Brains

New research reveals that one of the Aztecs’ most chilling artefacts, clay death  whistles, which resemble a human skull and produce a scream-like sound, not only frightened listeners in ancient times, but also had a profound effect on the human brain’s ability to increase states of alarm and fear.

The new study, published this month in the journal Communications Psychology, investigated the effect of these sounds on modern listeners, finding their ability to elicit negative emotional responses and increased neural activity in the auditory cortex.

For the first time, scientists investigated the effects of these disturbing whistles on the brains of modern European volunteers, conducting two separate experiments with different participant samples.

Aztec death whistles usually skull-shaped were designed to produce a high-pitched, penetrating sound similar to a scream, resulting from the collision of different air currents. Numerous examples have been found in graves dated between 1250 and 1521 CE.

Death whistles are thought to have been used by the ancient Aztecs to intimidate adversaries during battle. They are frequently found alongside the skeletons of sacrifice victims, fuelling suggestions that they might have had more of a ceremonial function.

For example, according to some experts, the death whistles were designed to resemble the piercing winds of Mictlan, the Aztec underworld that was thought to receive sacrificed tributes. Some believe the sound was intended to symbolize the Aztec God of the Wind, Ehecatl, who formed humanity from the remains of the dead.

Researchers used volunteers from modern-day Europe to perform a number of psychoacoustic tests.

When the researchers recorded the participants’ neural and psychological reactions to hearing the death scream, they found that the sound was perceived as “having a hybrid natural-artificial origin,” making it difficult for the brain to categorize.

Research participants described the sounds as “scary” e “aversive”, matching the purpose of using whistles in Aztec rituals and wars.

The psychoacoustic experiments carried out in the study revealed that the brain perceives sound as both natural and artificial, creating a feeling of ambiguity that captures mental attention.

This complex reaction involves lower-order auditory processing and higher-order cognitive systems, amplifying the emotional impact of sound.

Put another way, the death  whistle’s terrifying ambiguity seems to spark the imagination as the brain tries to decipher the sound’s symbolic meaning. The researchers therefore conclude that the whistles’ “usage in ritual contexts seems very likely, especially in sacrificial rites and ceremonies related to the dead.”

These sounds may have been intended to instill fear in victims of sacrifices or admiration to those who attended the ceremonies.

As a result, the researchers suggest that it may have been deliberately used during Aztec ceremonies to evoke strong psychological responses.

Frühholz, S., Rodriguez, P., Bonard, M. et al. Psychoacoustic and Archeoacoustic nature of ancient Aztec skull whistles. Commun Psychol 2, 108 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00157-7

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

Tulane University researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in  Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures, including a previously unknown large city with stone pyramids.

The ability to examine large regions from the comfort of a laboratory thanks to Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) technology has revolutionized the way archaic researchers study ancient civilizations in recent years.

The research project, led by doctoral student Luke Auld-Thomas alongside his advisor, Professor Marcello A. Canuto, both affiliated with Tulane’s Middle American Research Institute (MARI), used Lidar technology to study an area of 130 square kilometers in Campeche.

As part of a “non-archaeological” survey, the 50-square-mile area was mapped in 2013 using lidar, a remote-sensing technology, according to a study published today in the journal Antiquity. Examining this “found” dataset, the researchers discovered the ancient city concealed in plain sight in a region teeming with Maya settlements. They found evidence of over 6,500 structures in all.

The research focuses on a part of Campeche that had previously been overlooked in traditional archaeological research.

“The government never knew about it; the  scientific community never knew about it,” says lead author Luke Auld-Thomas, an archaeologist at Tulane University, in a statement.

Researchers found not only rural areas and small communities but also a large city with pyramids, close to the only road in the area, near a village where farmers have been working among the ruins without the government or scientific community being previously aware of its existence.

The larger of the two “monumental precincts” that comprised the city “has all the hallmarks of a Classic Maya political capital,” according to the researchers. It included temple pyramids, a freshwater reservoir, several enclosed plazas that were connected, and a ball court where the Maya played games with rubber balls.

According to the study, Valeriana’s architectural layout indicates that some of the town was constructed before 150 C.E. It thrived during the Classic era, which roughly spanned 250–900 C.E. and was the Maya Empire’s golden age.

This discovery is particularly striking, as it underscores how much remains unknown about the Maya and that there is still much to uncover.

The researchers intend to visit Valeriana and the surrounding settlements in person to learn more about the ancient rural population of the Maya lowlands.

This study not only reveals previously unknown cities, but it also contributes to ongoing debates about the true extent of Maya settlements and their population density.

It has been contended, that prior research has mostly concentrated on sizable, well-known locations like Tikal, which may have skewed impressions of the Maya lowlands.

According to some critics, the majority of the Maya region may have been rural, with big settlements being the exception rather than the rule.

This perspective is called into question by the discoveries made in Campeche, which demonstrate how the Maya civilization created a network of communities in a vast tropical environment that varied in size and complexity.

“Lidar is teaching us that, like many other ancient civilizations, the lowland Maya built a diverse tapestry of towns and communities over their tropical landscape,” Canuto said. “While some areas are replete with vast agricultural patches and dense populations, others have only small communities. Nonetheless, we can now see how much the ancient Maya changed their environment to support a long-lived complex society.”

Archaeologists unearth unusual find inside Tulum cave

A pre-Columbian apparatus that could be of great use today — a system for catching rainwater — has been found in the archaeological zone of Tulum, Quintana Roo. However, this one apparently wasn’t used as a catchment, since it was found inside a cave.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced the discovery this week of a chultún, a bottle-shaped structure used in Maya culture.

It is the only structure of its type that has been found “indoors” at the Tulum archaeological zone. Located inside a chamber of the cave tabbed Building 25, or Casa del Halach Uinic, the chultún measures 2.48 meters (8.1 feet) in diameter and 2.39 meters (7.8 feet) deep.

According to field manager Enrique Marín Vázquez, the structure “is made up of a layer of ground coral, 1 to 2 centimeters thick, which formed part of the soil surface, and underneath we found reddish clay.

Inside, fillings of medium-sized stones, thick layers of pure ash were found and, in the deepest part, we unearthed human bone remains and burned stones.”

Officials said the discovery could correspond to the first occupation of the site, prior to the Late Postclassic period in Mesoamerica (1250-1521).

The finding occurred during work being carried out by the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza).

It is the latest notable archaeological find inside the cave, which was blocked at its entrance by a large rock, on top of human remains, before it was uncovered in December 2023.

The cave has unearthed a trove of archaeological finds, such as the remains of 11 people believed to have been members of an upper class.

José Antonio Reyes Solís, the coordinator of the Promeza research project in Tulum, said two chultúns were previously found outside, and both functioned as catchments.

The latest find, he added, “shows a striking difference” from the other two: Not only was it found inside, but “it has no signs of having stored any liquid,” he said. “Rather, it is believed, it functioned as a storehouse for food and plants, and later, had a ritual use.”

The human remains found are in the process of being investigated, he added.

One theory is that they were three infants whose bodies were buried with other materials, such as deer antlers, shark teeth and shell earrings.

INAH is working on a virtual tour that will showcase the recent cave findings at the Tulum National Park.

The Splendor of the Seven Descending Gods of Tulum Resurfaced

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says the splendor of the seven Descending Gods of Tulum has resurfaced. The work consisted of cleaning, adhesion of fragments, filling of gaps, patching, and color reintegration.

In December 2023, the restoration stage of the seven figures of descending gods and murals of the Conservation Project of Movable Assets Associated with Real Estate, of the Archaeological Zone of Tulum, in Quintana Roo, was completed, as part of the Archaeological Zones Improvement Program (Promeza), within the framework of the Mayan Train works.

During this project, the conservation-restoration of the mural painting and the stucco and flattened reliefs of the most emblematic buildings of the site was carried out. Those included the temples of the Frescos and the Descending God, the houses of Chultún and Halach Uinic (Palace of the Great Lord), and El Castillo, in which representations of said deity are preserved.

Tulum’s buildings date from A.D. 1250-1550, but features from earlier periods, such as a stela from A.D. 564, have also been discovered.

As a result, INAH believes the city may have been founded earlier, possibly as a dependent territory of the nearby Tankah ruins.

Tulum is believed to have been dedicated to Venus. Some building facades feature figures of a descending god depicted upside down, who is associated with the sunset and believed to be connected to the planet. The entrances to structures with descending god figures are said to face the direction in which Venus sets.

Little is known about the Descending God. However, the Descending God is associated with Ah Muu Zen Caab, the Maya God of Bees. This is not surprising, considering that honey was the staple export commodity in the Mayan trade between Tulum and Cobá.

The person responsible for the restoration project, Patricia Meehan Hermanson, explained that the descending god was the emblematic figure of the Costa Maya Oriental region in Quintana Roo.

Restaurateur Jesús Antonio Muñoz Cinta, who is part of the team, explained that its typical contorted position evokes a falling human body whose legs are open and flexed upward.

“The torso, from its back, is perceived partially or completely, the arms semi-arched, downward, holding some object, and the head almost always faces the viewer. Some of his attributes and attire tend to vary,” he said.

“Although images of characters in a descending position have been located in various areas of Mesoamerica, it is on the Eastern Coast where it takes a leading place, modeled in stucco attached to the architecture of several buildings in places such as Tulum, Cobá and Tancah, in addition having been represented in ceramics, codices and mural painting, during the Postclassic period (900-1542 AD),” he added.

During the field season that has just concluded, the seven descending gods found to date in Tulum were preserved. Other restoration projectes included Building 16 or Temple of the Frescoes where two were restored.

In Building 25 or House of Halach Huinik, one of the best preserved and most striking is located. Another is in the Temple of the Descending God, the best known in Tulum for giving its name to Building 5, which also preserves a high percentage of its body and the painting that decorated it. The remains of one more were found in a niche in Building 20.

In Building 1 or The Castle has two more figures, one is in the center of the temple frieze, and the other, below in the vaulted hallway, as part of a complex scene in a wall painting.

Hunting tools Dating Back 1900 Years were found inside a Cave in Querétaro, Mexico

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) found hunting weapons dating back approximately 1,900 years in a cave in the central state of Querétaro.

The Federal Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), recovered one of the few sets of pre-Hispanic hunting tools discovered in Mexico to date in a small gallery of the Cave of Treasure in Cadereyta de Montes, Querétaro. It consists of an atlatl (spear) and two wooden darts from the first century of our era.

According to a press announcement by INAH, the discovery was reported by members of the Association of Cavers of Querétaro.

The cave is situated 200 meters above the ravine floor, and once at its entrance, researchers ventured 200 meters through a narrow passage to reach the gallery.

Within this underground branch, with an average height of 80 centimeters, specialists observed an atlatl (51.5 centimeters long), two fragmented darts (66 and 79 centimeters), and a pair of culturally modified wooden sticks (135 and 172 centimeters), likely used as digging sticks and multifunctional tools.

The atlatl is a spear-throwing lever that significantly increases the range and velocity of thrown projectiles, making it possible to target prey at a greater distance than with bare-handed throwing.

The dryness of the environment in the Treasure Cave allowed for the preservation of the hunting instruments, the age of which was determined using radiocarbon dating techniques. This gave a possible age range of A.D. 7-132.

During the exploration, the INAH team did not find other pre-Hispanic archaeological elements in the cave to provide an interpretation of why they were present in that remote location.

However, the results of a sample analysis will be announced by the team on the 27th of January 2024.

The INAH archaeologists said the mystery of the latest discoveries will persist until new investigations are carried out in the areas surrounding the cave. This may enable experts to determine how and why these instruments were left there.

Funerary urn depicting Maya corn god uncovered during Maya Train work

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducting salvage work along Section 7 of the Maya Train discovered a funerary urn with a carved image of a corn god.

According to a press announcement by INAH,  the general director of INAH, Diego Prieto Hernández, said that, in terms of its typology, this urn has been identified as a Paaktzatz-style vessel.

The funerary urn “presents a very interesting image of the corn god emerging from the leaves of a cob,” Hernández said.

According to Prieto Hernández, the urn was found near a similar vessel, which may indicate that the vessels were part of an ancient offering. Due to its typology, the clay pot has been identified as a Paaktzatz-style urn, containing human remains.

An anthropomorphic pastillage figure depicting the Maya corn god is seen on the funerary urn, according to a press release, and an owl is depicted on the lid, which is also present on the other vessel.

On the front of the vessel is a small anthropomorphic figure made of pastillage (a decorative technique using pieces of ceramic paste), alluding to the deity’s representation as an ear of corn in the growth stage.

In addition to the depiction of the corn god, the urn has ornamentation resembling the Mayan symbol “ik,” which represents wind and divine breath.

The ornamentation of the second vessel consists of applications on the sides, which simulate the thorns of a ceiba tree, a sacred tree among the Mayans of the past and present.

Archaeologists stated that similar images of the Maya deity have been found in figurines from the island of Jaina, in Campeche.

During the Classic Period of Maya iconography, the owl was considered an omen and a symbol of war. Paaktzatz vessels from the Río Bec region of Campeche, crafted between 680 and 770 A.D., provide evidence of this.

Archaeologists, archaeological work done through Jan. 8 on sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Maya Train has uncovered and protected 40,000 archaeological sites, some 1,000 artifacts, over 200,000 ceramic fragments, and 148 human burials.

Archaeologists discover a hidden Maya burial chamber in the walled enclosure of Tulum

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have discovered a hidden Maya burial chamber concealed within a cave at the archaeological complex in Tulum, Quintana Roo.

The discovery, sealed off by a massive rock deep inside Mexico’s walled city of Tulum, offers a rare glimpse into the funerary practices of this pre-Hispanic civilization.

By removing a large rock blocking the entrance to a hidden cave within the walled area of the Maya city, archaeologists uncovered the skeletal remains of several individuals.

The discovery was made during routine clearing work for a new visitor path, which is nestled between two prominent temples. A meticulously glued sea snail hinted at Maya craftsmanship, while a split human skeleton hinted at a deeper secret.

Upon removing the rock that sealed the entrance to the cavity, it was observed that it was literally splitting the skeletal remains of an individual, leaving the lower part of their body outside and the upper part inside. This would indicate that the person might have become trapped while attempting to access the cavity.

The project’s coordinator José Antonio Reyes Solís said in a statement that upon removing the boulder blocking the cave’s entrance, researchers saw that it had been splitting the ossified remains of an individual, leaving the lower part of the body on the outside and the upper part inside.

Inside the cramped cave, barely taller than half a meter, lay eight adult burials remarkably preserved by the cool, dry environment.

All materials are being studied further at INAH’s Quintana Roo Center by the head of the Department of Physical Anthropology, Allan Ortega Muñoz.

As the exploration of the cave progressed, The coordinator of the archaeological research project, José Antonio Reyes Solís said, it was identified that the topography shows at least two small chambers, located in the southern and northern parts, no more than 3 meters long by 2 meters wide, and an average height of 50 centimeters.

Likewise, a large number of skeletal remains of animals associated with the burials were recorded. According to the specialists in fauna identification, who collaborate on the project, Jerónimo Avilés and Cristian Sánchez, they correspond, in a preliminary manner, to various mammals (domestic dogs, mice, opossum, blood-sucking bats, white-tailed deer, tepezcuintle, armadillo nine banded, tapir, peccary); birds of the order Galliforme, Passeriforme, Pelecaniforme, Piciforme and Charadriiforme; reptiles (loggerhead sea turtle, land turtle and iguana); fish (tiger shark, barracuda, grouper, drum fish, puffer fish, eagle ray); crustaceans (crab and cirripedians), mollusks (snail) and amphibians (frog). Some bones have cut marks and others have been worked as artifacts, like punches, needles, or fan handles, characteristic of the area.

A single ceramic “molcajete” (grinding bowl) further pinpointed the burials to the late Postclassic period (1200-1550 AD).

In three of the burials, a small mortar of the type decorated with incisions was discovered, and it has been intervened by a restorer for preservation.

Archaeologists’ testimony describes the conditions inside the cave as particularly difficult, owing to the small entryways, low ceilings, lack of natural light, and general heat and humidity.  In addition to photos, a three-dimensional scan of the area will be made so that researchers and the general public can see the materials and remains in their original context.

Circular Maya Structure Uncovered in Southern Mexico

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient structure in the jungles of Mexico that may have been linked to the cult of a Maya serpent deity.

A team of researchers with the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) uncovered the circular structure at the archaeological site of El Tigre, Campeche State, in the Yucatán Peninsula.

El Tigre likely corresponds to an ancient Maya settlement that was known as Itzamkanac, which was a regional capital and commercial hub. The inhabitants of the region were the Chontal or Putun Maya culture, who worshipped the serpent deity Kukulcán, among other gods.

The El Tigre site has a long history of occupation dating back more than 2,000 years until the era of Spanish colonization began in the 16th century.

The recently discovered structure dates to the period 1000–1200 A.D. and could be linked to the cult of Kukulcán, who is equivalent to the wind god Quetzalcóatl in Aztec mythology, INAH said in a press release.

The structure, which consists of two levels, likely supported a flat-roofed temple dedicated to Kukulcán, according to archaeologists. It is similar to several other structures that have previously been found across the Yucatán at sites such as Edzná, Becán, Uxmal, and Chichen Itzá.

The importance of the structure lies in its age, which corresponds to a time when the ancient Maya settlement maintained strong ties with other regions of Mesoamerica—such as central Mexico, Oaxaca, and the Gulf Coast.

These links would have enabled the spread of religious ideas between the Chontal Maya and the other regions. For example, while the cult of Kukulcán had its origins in earlier Maya traditions, it may have also been influenced by the Quetzalcóatl cult.

An important historical document of the region known as the Paxbolón Maldonado Papers, describes a settlement called Itzamkanac that features temples dedicated to the four main deities of the Postclassic period Maya, one of whom was Kukulcán.

The latest discovery of the circular structure that potentially represents the remains of a temple dedicated to Kukulcán suggests that El Tigre is the city of Itzamkanac described in historical sources, given the site’s location and other archaeological data, according to INAH researcher Ernesto Vargas Pacheco.

“This building broadens our knowledge of the late occupation of El Tigre. Circular structures generally correspond to the early postclassic period between A.D. 1000 and 1200, when the Maya zone had links with other regions of Mesoamerica,” INAH general director Diego Prieto said at a press conference.

The structure was found during archaeological rescue works conducted as part of the Tren Maya (Maya Train) project.

The project is an almost 1,000-mile-long railway, scheduled to start operating in December. It traverses Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, the heart of the ancient Maya civilization, which is rich in antiquities

Tren Maya is one of the largest and most controversial infrastructure projects in the history of Mexico. It aims to bring tourists from the region’s popular beach resorts to lesser-known inland locations, including historic Mayan sites, that represent some of the poorest parts of southern Mexico.

While thousands of ancient Maya artifacts and structures have been uncovered during work on the project, critics say it places others at risk of damage or destruction, as has already occurred. Some have also raised environmental concerns.