Recently, my family and I went on a trip to Peru, and as part of our tour, we stopped by a luthier who makes instruments from historical Peru. One of the instruments we learned about was the Whistling Pottery, or the Whistling Jar, as coined by the archaeologists who discovered it. This instrument is made from two small ceramic pots joined together by two ceramic pipes, one thick and one thin.
“Whistling Jar – Chimu – Late Intermediate (Chimu) (Pre-Columbian) – the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” Metmuseum.org, 2026, http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/501305. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
When this vessel is filled with water and tilted from side to side, the water flows through the thicker bottom pipe, while the thinner upper pipe moves air from one chamber to the other, moving it through an inserted whistle and creating a bird-like whistling sound. Here is an example of the whistling sound that it makes:
Youtube.com, 2026, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_BvHJXIAQs. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
Above is an x-ray of a Peruvian whislte, and we can see that the air will move through a whistle on the left as it is pushed through the upper chamber, which is what creates the whistling sound.
That is an overview of the Whistling Pottery! I have links for your further reasearch here:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/501305
I will be covering more Peruvian instruments soon! Stay tuned.
Past posts:
The Musical Press 
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