The Aztec death whistle was a whistle exclusively used by the Mexica,^[1] first discovered in the excavation of a temple in Mexico City in the 1990s. The idea has been popularized that hundreds of warriors would use the whistles at the same time. However, there is limited evidence to support this claim.^[2] The ehecachichtli or "aztec death whistle" first gained public notoriety after the excavation of an Aztec temple in Mexico City revealed a skeleton holding musical instruments including a small ceramic skull shaped whistle, subsequently referred to as the "Aztec death whistle".^[3] A common misconception is that this whistle produced a sharp shriek-like sound. However, these sounds credited as the Aztec death whistle are actually produced by much larger reproductions of the whistle. Music archeologist Arnd Adje Both had the opportunity to test the original excavated whistles, and the actual sound produced is far softer. Both describes the sound as similar to "atmospheric noise generated by the wind."^[4] Thus, Both suggests that the purpose of the whistle – based on its location at the base of a temple, its imagery related to death, and the lack of whistles ever discovered at battle sites or in warrior graves – was far more likely to be ceremonial or religious rather than for warfare.^[5] However, the symbolic purpose and actual use of the whistle requires further investigation and currently is mostly speculation.^[6]

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