Researchers make noises of pre-Columbian society

June 30, 2008 By JULIE WATSON , Associated Press Writer
Researchers make noises of pre-Columbian society (AP)

Roberto Velazquez, an expert in pre-Columbian sounds, plays a replica of a flute in Mexico City, April 17, 2008. The 66-year-old mechanical engineer has given his career to recreating the sounds of his pre-Columbian ancestors, producing hundreds of replicas of whistles, flutes and wind instruments unearthed in Mexico's ruins. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

(AP) -- Scientists were fascinated by the ghostly find: a human skeleton buried in an Aztec temple with a clay, skull-shaped whistle in each bony hand. But no one blew into the noisemakers for nearly 15 years. When someone finally did, the shrill, windy screech made the spine tingle. If death had a sound, this was it.



Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .

4.5 /5 (10 votes)  

Rank 4.5 /5 (10 votes)
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Pertubance in a model
    created6 hours ago
  • Cancer drugs and Alzheimer's, Oh my!
    created14 hours ago
  • Squishing cells
    created14 hours ago
  • Any books/articles for evolutionary stable strategy models in humans?
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • Science behind the bore feeling?
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • Homo Sapien vs. Chimpanzee - Divergence Timeline
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Biology

More news stories

Employers feel no love for unscrupulous practice of 'service sweethearting'

A new study led by two Florida State University marketing professors finds that some frontline service employees who are rewarded for hikes in customer loyalty and satisfaction also may engage in "service ...

Other Sciences / Economics & Business

created 21 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A frank discussion of the power law and linking correlation to causation

(PhysOrg.com) -- Michael Stumpf a mathematics professor at Imperial College in London, and Mason Porter a lecturer at Oxford have teamed together to write and publish a perspective piece in Science regarding the in ...

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created 6 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2 | with audio podcast report

Sonic Cradle lands spot in TED exhibition

A Simon Fraser University graduate student project that melds music, meditation and modern technology has landed a rare spot as an exhibit at TEDActive 2012 in Palm Springs, California this month.

Other Sciences / Other

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The question of life in the ancient world

There’s a general feeling that we don’t get the Greeks – ancient or modern. Many, including heads of state like Angela Merkel, visibly shake their head in exasperation, rightly or wrongly, at ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created 5 hours ago | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 2

US workers are 'giving away the store,' costing firms billions

Nearly 70 percent of the nation's service employees give away free goods and services – from hamburgers to cable TV – costing companies billions of dollars a year, according to a groundbreaking study.

Other Sciences / Economics & Business

created 23 hours ago | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 10


Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system

(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...

India probes Google over 'forex transactions'

Indian authorities are probing whether online giant Google broke domestic foreign-exchange transactions rules while shifting funds abroad, the Press Trust of India reported on Friday.

Germany freezes signing of disputed Internet pact

Germany on Friday halted the signing of a controversial international accord billed as a way to beat online piracy that has sparked angry protests, saying it needed more time to consider it.

Health experts, scientists to discuss bird flu studies

The World Health Organization said Friday it will meet next week to determine whether scientists can publish research on a bird flu virus that may be easily passed among humans.

Obama forges compromise birth control plan

US President Barack Obama Friday announced a compromise to defuse a row over access to birth control which prompted election-year Republican critics to claim he was waging a war on religion.

US issues guidelines to avoid heparin contamination

Four years after US drug-maker Baxter International's blood thinner heparin was contaminated in China, causing dozens of deaths, US regulators on Friday issued draft guidelines for safe production.