Lintel 15 of Yaxchilán Structure 21

Description

Lintel 15 of Yaxchilán Structure 21<p/> 16°53‘57.51”N, 90°57‘52.13”W<p/> Carved from limestone, this lintel was once part of a three lintel series from Structure 21 illustrating the accession rituals of Lord Bird Jaguar IV (*Yaxun B’alam IV*). It was originally set above the left southeast doorway of the central chamber of Structure 21, but the structure had collapsed before its rediscovery. <p/>In this scene, one of Bird Jaguar IV's wives, Lady *Wak Tuun* of the *Ik'* polity, is in the final stages of a blood letting ceremony wherein paper she has ritually bled onto has been set on fire. The resulting smoke has ushered forth a deity aspect of the waterlily serpent, itself the *nagual* of the lightning deity, *K'**awiil*.. The lintel is thought to have been created between 755-770 CE.<p/> *Currently on display at the British Museum *<p/> Translations from [Harvard Peabody](https://www.peabody.harvard.edu/cmhi/detail.php?num=15&site=Yaxchilan&type=Lintel)