This is my final idea, based off the reference image below, which is a rendition of a death whistle by artist Roberto Velázquez.
Here are some other ideas i decided against. They seemed too unrealistic to be made during the time period.
Hive of ideas and research
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOLWXdb8=/?invite_link_id=279818770777
I landed on wanting to research Mexico, pre Spanish conquest. Mayan and Aztec artefacts are an interest of mine. I love their look and design and am fascinated by the amount of symbolism behind certain sculptures and the mythology attached to them.
I went to the British Museum to visit room 27. A lot of their artefacts were made from clay or jade. I will use this in my 3D model. I still haven’t decided what technology I will combine this time period with. I went to see if any of these artefacts were tools or represented ideas/ beliefs of the time. A lot of the sculptures represented themes such as femininity, or life cycle, often used for shrines, rituals, burials and sacrifices.