As its name suggests, an Aztec death whistle can make a most dreadful sound. But the effect depends on how it's played, explains musicologist and archaeologist Arnd Adje Both of the Free University of ...

In cultures around the world, instruments have brought music and joy to rituals, ceremonies and everyday life. But in the forests of central Mexico, a single note from an Aztec whistle didn’t always ...

Day of the Dead might sound like a solemn affair, but Mexico’s famous holiday is actually a lively commemoration of the departed. The nationwide festivities, which include a massive parade in Mexico ...

Many ancient cultures used musical instruments in ritual ceremonies. Ancient Aztec communities from the pre-Columbian period of Mesoamerica had a rich mythological codex that was also part of their ...

NEW YORK — A 5-foot tall clay figure of Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the underworld, stands in a darkened corridor of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, flaunting the form of a disintegrating ...

The first stage of the way consists in crossing the Apanohuaia river with the help of a dog, either white or vermilion, called Xoloitzcuintle. Its color was the only way to see in a place full of ...

When the Aztecs dominated central Mexico, a blood-curdling sound like a human scream played through a small whistle. Luis Aceves via Unsplash In cultures around the world, instruments have brought ...