page_title: Yaxchilan
section_title: Lintels
hierarchical_section_title: Yaxchilan / The site / Monuments / Lintels
caption_attribution_description: English: Maya site of Yaxchilan, Mexico, Late Classice Period. Lintel 15 of Structure 21 depicting Lady Wak Tuun, one of the wives of king Bird-Jaguar IV during a bloodletting rite. British Museum
context_page_description: Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedras Negras as its major rival. Architectural styles in subordinate sites in the Usumacinta region demonstrate clear differences that mark a clear boundary between the two kingdoms.
  Yaxchilan was a large center, important throughout the Classic era, and the dominant power of the Usumacinta River area. It dominated such smaller sites as Bonampak, and had a long rivalry with Piedras Negras and at least for a time with Tikal; it was a rival of Palenque, with which Yaxchilan warred in 654.
  The site is particularly known for its well-preserved sculptured stone lintels set above the doorways of the main structures. These lintels, together with the stelae erected before the major buildings, contain hieroglyphic texts describing the dynastic history of the city.
context_section_description: Lintel 1 is above the eastern doorway of Structure 33 in the Central Acropolis. It depicts 8th-century king Bird Jaguar IV accompanied by his wife Lady Great Skull Zero.
  Lintel 2 is set above the central doorway of Structure 33. It shows Bird Jaguar IV accompanied by his son and heir, Shield Jaguar II.
  Lintel 3 is above the westernmost doorway of Structure 33. It also shows Bird Jaguar IV, this time accompanied by an ally.
  Lintel 10 is the last known monument at Yaxchilan, dating to 808. It depicts K'inich Yat Ahk II of Piedras Negras as a captive of Yachilan king K'inich Tatbu Skull IV.
  Lintel 12 was originally set into Structure 20 in the Central Acropolis. It is now in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City.
  Lintel 13 is above a doorway in Structure 20. It had fallen when the roof of the building collapsed but has since been reset. The sculpture on the lintel is very well preserved.
  Lintel 14 is set above a doorway in Structure 20 and is particularly well preserved.
  Lintel 15 originally spanned a doorway in Structure 21, it was removed to the British Museum in 1982-3. Like Lintels 16 and 17 from the same series, it was carved from limestone. It was originally set above the southeast doorway of the central room. Lintel 15 depicts Lady Wak Tuun, one of the wives of king Bird Jaguar IV, during a bloodletting ritual that results in the appearance of the Vision Serpent. Lady Wak Tuun is carrying a basket containing the tools used for the bloodletting ritual, including a stingray spine, rope and bloodstained paper. The Vision Serpent emerges from a bowl containing strips of bark paper.
  Lintel 16 also spanned a doorway in Structure 21 and was removed to the British Museum in 1982-3. It was sculpted from limestone and was originally set above the central doorway of the central room. It shows Bird Jaguar IV holding a spear and standing over a kneeling captive. Bird Jaguar IV wears the same costume that his father is depicted wearing on Lintel 26. The capture event depicted on Lintel 16 took place in 752.
  Lintel 17 was another lintel from a doorway in Structure 21 that is now in the British Museum. It is sculpted from limestone and was originally set above the northwest doorway of the central room. It dates to the reign of Bird Jaguar IV. The lintel depicts Bird Jaguar IV and his wife Lady B'alam Mut participating in a bloodletting ritual. The king watches while his wife pulls a rope through her tongue draw blood. This ritual is recorded as having taken place eight days after the capture event depicted on Lintel 16.
  Lintel 24 is sculpted from limestone and is regarded as a masterpiece of Maya art. It is one of a series of three lintels that were set above the doorways of Structure 23, this one having been set above the southeast doorway. It shows a bloodletting ritual being carried out by king Itzamnaaj B'alam II and his wife Lady K'ab'al Xook, the king stands holding a burning torch over his wife, who pulls a spiked rope through her tongue. A screenfold book lies in a basket in front of the kneeling princess. The lintel has traces of red and blue pigments. The ceremony represented on the sculpture took place on 28 October, 709. Lintel 24 was removed at the end of the 19th century and is now on display in the British Museum.
  Lintel 25 was originally set above the central doorway of Structure 23. It was carved from limestone during the reign of king Itzamnaaj B'alam II and shows Lady Xook invoking the Vision Serpent to commemorate the accession of her husband to the throne. Lady Xook holds a bowl containing bloodletting apparatus consisting of a stingray spine and bloodstained paper. The Vision Serpent rising before her has two heads, one at each extreme, from the mouth of one emerges a warrior, from the other emerges the head of central Mexican deity Tlaloc, a water god from the distant metropolis of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico. The hieroglyphic inscription on the lintel is unusual, being reversed as if it were meant to be read in a mirror, although the significance of this is unknown. Like Lintel 24, Lintel 
caption: Lintel 15, now in the British Museum, depicting one of the wives of Bird Jaguar IV invoking the Vision Serpent in a bloodletting rite.
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