The whistle was discovered by myself which was laid in position on it's side less than 1/4" exposed from the soil surface. The hole was impacted completely full with dirt that had been unknowningly previously dug out 20 years earlier for land development in Southwest Colorado on private property. This Whistle had been buried for many, many hundreds of years.
The ancient Anasazi are thought to have inhabited approximately 40,000 square mile area.
As an example of the whistles size in comparison to the known area of occupation of 40,000 square miles; about roughly the size area of the state of Kentucky. There are 21 trillion, 807 billion, 104 million cubic yards ( 3ft.x 3ft.x 3ft. deep ) of potential location possibilities of another find. Could there be another... ? or could it even be possible to even find another ...? This is not likely.
This artifact is the only one known single holed whistle made of mudstone discovered in the Americas. Other multiple holed wind instruments have been recovered at Mesa Verde cliff Dwellings dating from A.D. 1025 - 1325 have been made from two other materials, either stone of a lime chert concretion or bone from large rodents and eagle bone.
This ancient wind instrument was hand chiped with a hole bored completely through at a deliberate angle with a raised air chamber. Slightly larger in size of a U.S. silver dollar, this whistle is thought to have been used for sacred ceremonial and religious prayer rituals.
After extensive research, it is believed that this wind instrument is a predecessor to the Ocarina and Native American flute before music was developed for pleasure and cultural identity. The area of this whistles discovery is approximately 30 miles east of Mesa Verde.
Occupying mesa plateaus and valleys in the area of the LaPlata River and it's tributaries in what is now known as Southwest Colorado.
The Anasazi constructed pit house villages as early as 5,000 B.C., prior to Cliff house dwellings during the early second century.
The eventual arrival of hostile peoples forced the ancient Puebloans from their pit houses to the cliff dwellings. A new style of building begun at around A.D. 600, with multiple level pueblos at Mesa Verde for the advantage of a much more secure location.
To date, acoustically distinct clay instruments have been found in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and Peru. This mudstone whistle is the only known example in all of North America, with it's Circular shape and primitive one hole design.
The term " Anasazi " is actually a Navajo word; borrowed by Archaeologists meaning, " Ancient enemy or Ancient ones." To the Native Hopi; ' Hisatsinom. '
Blue is considered a sacred color among most Native Americans in the Southwest; representing the color of the blue sky. There is still traces of blue pigment visible despite being buried for many centuries under the soil, remnants of this instrument's true painted color.
Since the Anasazi have no written recorded language, their actual cultural name they called themselves will never be known.
This whistle was used by the highly important of the clan and respected Shaman to heal the sick... in order to secure safe passage to the spirit world; ceremonies for the dead, bountiful harvests, prayers for rain, and prosperous hunting.
(Book ref. Indians in the Americas: The untold story. pg. 134-135 by: Paul Tice ; A book tree publication. )
"Whistles are considered by many Archaeologists to be the forerunner of the American Indian flute. The whistle has always been a sacred object. Flutes date back to at least 5,000 years and may have evolved from whistles. They have been found in ancient Greece, and flutes made from pelican bones were discovered in ancient south American pyramids. This ancient Instrument traveled into MesoAmerica and into the Anasazi culture of the southwest area of America."
One of the Greatest mysteries of this whistle and of it's purpose,... " Todays modern man will never be able to truly fathom the meaning and power behind this whistle. Unfortunately, Man has deviated from the understanding of Earth's grand design rhythms and the natural balance of Natures intended order. " R.T.
The Smithsonian Institute has 800 whistles listed in their inventory. There is no record description of a single holed design made from mudstone material.
This whistle can also been seen and heard as a featured story at
For further interest of the acquisition for museum exhibit of this Ancient Anasazi Shaman whistle, contact robertthomas64@excite.com
( click on picture for an extreme close up. )
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