musical phalluses

[KVW]

I find it curious the these have been ignored, per ChatGPT

The phrase "musical phalluses" refers to a curious and somewhat obscure archaeological feature reported at Chichén Itzá.
According to accounts from archaeologists and visitors, there were a number of phallic-shaped stone cones found at the site that produced clear musical tones when struck with a wooden mallet. One report describes them as "artillery-shell-shaped stones" that could be arranged and played somewhat like a xylophone.
However, a few important caveats:

• The "musical phalluses" are not one of Chichén Itzá's major, well-studied monuments.
  
• Most references come from anecdotal reports, popular articles, and discussions among archaeologists rather than detailed peer-reviewed acoustic studies.
  
• One account claims that members of archaeologist Sylvanus Morley's team in the 1920s arranged some of the stones by pitch and played Christmas carols on them. This story is often repeated but is difficult to verify from primary archaeological publications.
  

The term also gets confused with another feature at Chichén Itzá: the so-called "Phallic Temple" in the older southern part of the site, which contains phallic carvings and symbolism but is not itself a musical instrument.
pile-of-broken-phalluses-at-the-ruined-mayan-city-of-chichen-itza-A313CT.jpg (866×1390)

[Harte]

I once dated a flutist.

Harte

[KVW]

I once dated a flutist.

Harte

 
A Phallic flutist?

[BeyondKnowledge]

I wonder why no one has tested and measured the notes recently. I would like to see how they compare to music scales from other parts of the world. 

Played in the 1920s? Definitely predates the Stones and other Rock Music. 

They look to be carved as the ends have no evidence of being stalagmites or Stalagtights. 

Not something for a marching band I would think.

[Byrd]

I find it curious the these have been ignored, per ChatGPT

The phrase "musical phalluses" refers to a curious and somewhat obscure archaeological feature reported at Chichén Itzá.
According to accounts from archaeologists and visitors, there were a number of phallic-shaped stone cones found at the site that produced clear musical tones when struck with a wooden mallet. One report describes them as "artillery-shell-shaped stones" that could be arranged and played somewhat like a xylophone.
However, a few important caveats:

• The "musical phalluses" are not one of Chichén Itzá's major, well-studied monuments.
  
• Most references come from anecdotal reports, popular articles, and discussions among archaeologists rather than detailed peer-reviewed acoustic studies.
  
• One account claims that members of archaeologist Sylvanus Morley's team in the 1920s arranged some of the stones by pitch and played Christmas carols on them. This story is often repeated but is difficult to verify from primary archaeological publications.
  

The term also gets confused with another feature at Chichén Itzá: the so-called "Phallic Temple" in the older southern part of the site, which contains phallic carvings and symbolism but is not itself a musical instrument.
pile-of-broken-phalluses-at-the-ruined-mayan-city-of-chichen-itza-A313CT.jpg (866×1390)

I do believe it's an AI hallucination.

In doing a reverse search on the image, it only appears in 3 places:  Almay stock photos (where the photographer is free to make any identification they like) and the site you linked.

There is a "Temple of the Phalluses" - and here's a paper on it with some photos.  They don't look like the objects in the "pile" link: https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/...ne-phallus

And here's a pretty nice paper on it.  Again, the actual phalluses are shorter and have a distinct "mushroom" shape... not a long and pointy shape: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ancientamericas.org/sites/default/files/20001Amrhein01_0.pdf

Could they be workshop blanks?  Yes, possibly.  However, the fact that they're rather neatly stacked like that does suggest that they have been investigated.

As to "rocks making music" -- you can get "rock music" out of many rocks.  So having it make a sound isn't particularly unique.

Injuring the phallus to cause blood to flow from it (with a thorn or something like a needle) was part of a special sacrificial ceremony, according to what I've read and heard from museum guides (when we were in Costa Rica they showed us some of the murals that depicted this bloodletting.  Hubby looked VERY uncomfortable.)

So I think they're known -- but you might not be asking the right combination of words to find the answer.

Just for grins, call that conversation back and ask it for references about "musical phalluses".  Let's see what it was looking at.

[KVW]

This quote is 30 years ago

There are other "undocumented" acoustical properties of the ruins. When I was there several years ago the guide showed me a stack of what looked like stone artillery shells. He said that to this day no one has been able to determine what they were for. Then with a wink he picked up two sticks and proceeded to play a tune on the "shells". Each one was precisely tuned. Perhaps the "ancients" knew more about acoustics than we give them credit for.

[BeyondKnowledge]

This quote is 30 years ago

There are other "undocumented" acoustical properties of the ruins. When I was there several years ago the guide showed me a stack of what looked like stone artillery shells. He said that to this day no one has been able to determine what they were for. Then with a wink he picked up two sticks and proceeded to play a tune on the "shells". Each one was precisely tuned. Perhaps the "ancients" knew more about acoustics than we give them credit for.

Why can't I find that quote anywhere else?

[Harte]

A Phallic flutist?

Evidently not, but that's merely anecdotal evidence.

Harte

[KVW]

Why can't I find that quote anywhere else?

Unexplained Acoustics

[BeyondKnowledge]

Unexplained Acoustics

Thank you for the link. I had to bookmark it because it is full of other ancient acuestic mysteries. I may be looking into some of them.