The skull design may represent Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec Lord of the Underworld. "Given both the aversive/scary and associative/symbolic sound nature as well as currently known excavation ...

The noise may have also represented the Aztec wind god Ehecatl or the god of death, Mictlantecuhtli. There have also been claims that the whistles were used during warfare to strike fear into the ...