Acoustic analysis of an Olmecan whistle

Abstract

Thousands of stone artifacts over 2500 years of age have been found in the Olmecan area in the southeast region of Mexico. These range from the famous big heads with helmets (about 2 m in diameter), to small pieces with precisely drilled holes, which some archaeologists consider to have some simple uses, much simpler than the work needed to produce the stone artifact itself. The one studied here (about 3 cm in size), is considered by the acoustics community as an air-phone, and a detailed anaysis has been done employing FFT techniques in order to find out the frequency spread, the particular tones produced and the sound radiated power through the different holes and cavities. The artifact is made of a very solid stone, so-called ilmenite, believed to have titanium, which is very hard to drill. Nevertheless, many similar pieces have been found in the area, which means they were built on purpose, and the material used gives the idea of a sacred application. Attempts have been made to reproduce the artifacts, which produce sounds similar to those from the original pieces.