Lintel 24 is one of three limestone door lintels from Temple 23 at the Mayan site of Yaxchilan. Temple 23 is dedicated to Lady K’abal Xook, the principal wife of Itzamnaaj Balam III (also known as Shield Jaguar), a king who ruled the Maya city of Yaxchilan from AD 681 to 742. A lintel is the load-bearing stone at the top of a doorway, and its massive size and location was often used by the Maya (and other civilizations) as a place to show off decorative carving. The three carved lintels in Temple 23 feature Lady Xook (Lady Shark, sometimes spelled Xoc and pronounced "Shook") and her husband in a series of ceremonies related to the king throne ascension.
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Temple 23 is located on the southern side of the main plaza of Yaxchilan, and was built about AD 726. Recent excavations by the Mexican archaeologist Roberto Garcia Moll identified two burials under the temple floor: one of an aged woman, accompanied by a rich offering; and the second one of an old man, accompanied by an even richer one. These are believed to be the tomb of Itzamnaaj Balam III; Lady Xook's tomb is supposed to be in the adjacent Temple 24, because it features an inscription with the record of the queen's death in AD 749.
Lintel 24 is the easternmost of three door lintels which covered respectively the eastern (Lintel 24), the central (Lintel 25) and the western (Lintel 26) doorways of Temple 23. The lintels were rediscovered in 1886 by the British explorer Alfred Maudsley, who had the lintel cut out of the temple and sent to the British Museum where it is now located. These three pieces are almost unanimously considered among the finest stone relieves of the whole Maya region.
Royal Bloodletting Ritual
Lintel 24 features a scene of bloodletting ritual performed by Lady Xook, and the hieroglyphic text places the event on October AD 709. The two personages depicted are Itzamnaaj Bahlam III and his wife. The king is holding a torch above the queen who is kneeling in front of him, suggesting that the ritual is taking place at night or in a dark, secluded room of the temple. Lady Xook is passing a rope through her tongue, after having pierced it with a stingray spine, and her blood is dripping onto bark paper in a basket.
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The textiles, headdresses and royal accessories are extremely elegant, suggesting the high status of the personages. The finely carved stone relief emphasizes the elegance of the woven cape that wraps up the queen. The king is adorned by a pendant portraying the sun god and a severed head, probably of a war captive, adorned is headdress.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Ancient Maya, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Garcia Moll, Roberto, 2003, La Arquitectura de Yaxchilan, INAH, Mexico
Martin Simon and Nikolai Grube, 2000, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. Thames & Hudson, London and New York.
Miller Mary and Simon Martin, 2004, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and Thames and Hudson.
Schele, Linda, and Mary Miller, 1986. The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. George Braziller, New York.
Tate Caroline, 1992, Yaxchilan: The Design of a Maya Ceremonial City. University of Texas Press, Austin.