Atecocolli · the conch blown at dawn

What it is

A large sea conch, pierced at the tip to be blown through. In Nahuatl, atecocolli — the water conch.

It was blown at dawn, from the top of the temple, and also to mark the hours of the night. It was a signal, not an accompaniment: it was meant to be heard from far off, and that is what was asked of it.

What exactly was measured

Synthesised from original recordings. The process was this: a replica of the instrument was played and recorded, and from that take the parameters the engine uses were extracted by analysis.

A replica is built today, by someone with their own view of what measurements and materials the original had. Its timbre is that replica's — not that of a museum piece, and still less of one that sounded in Tenochtitlan.

That is why the timbre is declared measured and not attested: the measurement started from a real object, and that object is recent.

The original takes are not kept. What is published here is the sound the engine produces from them, with its fingerprint so that anyone can check it is the file it claims to be.

Questions that reach this page

What is the atecocolli? A large sea conch pierced at the tip to be blown through. In Nahuatl, «the water conch».

How does the Aztec conch sound? Low, broad and very carrying: it is heard from far off, which is what was asked of it.

Why was the conch blown in Mexica temples? It was a signal, not an accompaniment. It was blown at dawn from the top of the temple and to mark the hours of the night.

How many notes does a conch give? One. It has no holes and no keys: the pitch is set by the cavity. A skilled blower can bend it a little by tightening the lips, and little more.

Is atecocolli the same as tecciztli? They are relatives: the tecciztli is the large conch. Alma Mexica names it but does not yet play it — no example has been obtained to measure.

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