Yaxchilan Lintel 24

Yaxchilan Lintel 24

Lintel 24 is the designation given by modern archaeologists to an ancient Maya limestone carving from Yaxchilan, in modern Chiapas, Mexico. The lintel dates to about AD 725, placing it within the Maya Late Classic period. The text of Maya hieroglyphics indicates that the scene depicted is a bloodletting ritual that took place on long count date 9.13.17.15.12 5 Eb 15 Mac, or October 28, AD 709. The ruler, Shield Jaguar, holds a torch while his consort, Lady Xoc, pulls a rope studded with what are now believed to be obsidian shards through her tongue in order to conjure a vision serpent.