An inscription on the lintel reads October 20, 681, the date of Lord Shield . It also gives us another level of, you might say, ethical or epistemological or interpretive responsibility, in that there are descendant communities that we need to address, and for whom we will frame how we come to conclusions in, I think, a very careful way. And so these monuments are, to me anyway, notionally in a kind of slipstream of time. They tend to celebrate the completion of important periods of times. And then often, these kinds of carvings among the Maya are either ritually deactivated or they might be destroyed by enemies. And in addition to that, we are laying out the kind of cultural parameters for what will become Classic Maya civilization, which is the period I study. And this came as something of a controversy in my field because everyone had assumed there was a local expression of whatever language might be spoken at that time. The Dharma at Big Sur Sri Moonshine and A New Day. Music written by John Adams and licensed with permission from Hendon Music. Structure 33, Yaxchiln (Maya) (photo: Graham Duggan, CC BY-ND 2.0). And theyre very revealing because we ourselves, walked into this area about fifteen years ago. Event and date Emplym Glyph Name Glyph: The artists name are carved into the lintels Action: The blood is dripping onto some paper in a basket She is kneeling She is wearing: Ceremonial blood leading costume In zigzag pattern there is the axis mundi The cross is the intersection of the universe Bloodletting was also an act related to rebirth and rejuvenation. CUNO: How do they relate to painted vases of the same period, the same area? It isn't that much harder to learn the location of ancient art and architecture. ti ho (?) it is possible, but considering the size of the monolith it would be quite difficult to print anything. Which of these artworks was not made as propaganda to supplement the power of the ruler it (Late Classic period, 600-900 CE). In worldwide architecture of different eras and many cultures, a lintel has been an element of post and lintel construction. What event is portrayed in the elaborately carved lintel showing the Maya ruler Shield Jaguar and his wife Lady XOOK? Yaxchiln is located on the south bank of the Usumacinta River, in Chiapas, Mexico. a bloodletting ritual Such Maya rituals as bloodletting were only enacted on slaves. The figures on top correspond to the local ruler, whose name we know, Cheleew Chan Kinich. But there are, in the Guatemalan side, not too far, almost certainly, from which the lintel was found, where there are more or less untouched reserves of rain forest, with forest giants like mahogany or animals like jaguar, which are long gone elsewhere. HOUSTON: Its a term that comes from the ancient world, particularly in Egypt, in which many objects flowed out to museums. Coe, Michael D., and Stephen D. Houston. Wooden lintel over kitchen fireplace with carved date of 1654, Lintel above the entrance to Jagdschloss Grunewald, Germany, "Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture - Lintel", "NCRP Report 151 Structural shielding design and evaluation for megavoltage x-and gamma-ray radiotherapy facilities", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lintel&oldid=1116905316, This page was last edited on 18 October 2022, at 23:23. Several lintels over temple doors were composed of wooden beams and contained carved scenes of royal conquest and ritual. HOUSTON: The next part of the project is to get back to the jungle. Its not gonna support a lot of people. Three entryways punctuate the exteriorwhich is embellished with stucco ornamentation. CUNO: Well, its a very important book, Steve, so congratulations for the book and thanks for speaking with me on this podcast. Many different building materials have been used for lintels.[1]. Now, on the carvings that we studied, the blue rims of the glyphs are probably referring to the idea of preciousness. Yaxchiln lintel 24, structure 23, after 709 C.E., Maya, Late Classic period, limestone, 109 x 78 x 6 cm, Mexico Trustees of the British Museum. CUNO: Now, and weve talked a bit about the Lambs, but what about this man named Ian Graham? He was continually perplexed by this problem of sorting out where these lintels came from precisely. HOUSTON: Yeah. But those two colors, the last ones I mentioned, red and yellow, are themselves probably reflecting the kind of refulgent solar quality of the imagery. A common medium of Maya sculpture that is almost entirely lost to observers today is that of wood. Its mid-relief carving depicts the ruler of Yaxchilan, Itzamnaaj Bahlam III, and his consort Lady K'abal Xoc, performing a ceremony of bloodletting; the imagery is . But now Dana was interested in movie rights as well. The rope falls on to an open codex. In freestanding Indian building examples, the Hoysala architecture tradition between the 11th and 14th centuries produced many elaborately carved non-structural stone lintels in the Southern Deccan Plateau region of southern India. Miller, Mary Ellen, and Megan O'Neil. In the case of windows, the bottom span is instead referred to as a sill, but, unlike a lintel, does not serve to bear a load to ensure the integrity of the wall. The Yaxchiln lintels were originally painted, although only traces remain, including red on Lady Xooks clothing and the brilliant Maya blue color on the background of Lintel 24. I cannot remember the source I got this from, will find it soon. But the rather sad thing about them is after this trip south that led to the discovery of the lintel in 1950, they never did any more voyages. In classical Western architecture and construction methods, by Merriam-Webster definition, a lintel is a load-bearing member and is placed over an entranceway. Scrolls of blood can be seen around her mouth. A fearsome full-bodied portrait (66.181) shows Chac grimacing and holding a double-bladed axe as if to threaten the beholders. And the rest of their lives were leavened by little more than an occasional talk about their grand adventure to the Lost City. "His sculpture was erected, Mo Chaak, he of Hixil?". Why are there 3 doors on most of the temples here? And it is opening up all sorts of exciting possibilities of interpretation. . For photos, transcripts, and other resources, visit getty.edu/podcasts and if you have a question, or an idea for an upcoming episode, write to us at podcasts@getty.edu. And so thats expressed in all sorts of rituals that are still ongoing in Guatemala, in Belize, in Mexico, and also in Honduras, in which we have supplications of deities and forces of mountains and water. The structure 23 does not depict warfare which differentiates it from other structures build during Jaguar's time. And this is something weve known about for some time, but its only recently being documented to a fuller extent. The disembodied head of Chac (1978.412.24) from Chichn Itz has skeletal features that add a sinister dimension to this work from the years just before the abandonment of Maya cities. Direct link to Cassandra Bristol's post From what materials were , Posted a year ago. Lady Xook (detail), Lintel 25, Structure 23, Yaxchiln (Maya) (The British Museum). And we know the exact date. And despite attention given in past years to locally surviving carved lintels, two . Yaxchilns ruling dynasty rose in the 4th century C.E., but its heyday followed several hundred years later (during what art historians call the Classic period), with Lord Shield Jaguar II who ruled for 60 years beginning in 681. And this is a process that really, really intensified in the sixties and seventies, and even beyond. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. A spouted chocolate vessel (1999.484.3) made of indurated limestone would have taken an enormous amount of carving and polishing with abrasives in order to obtain the delicate reliefs and sheen of the surface. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. Bird Jaguar ascended the throne ten years after his father died, suggesting that there was perhaps a conflict about who was to become Yaxchilns ruler. Its a little bit sad, in that Ive actually seen correspondence from Dana and Ginger, and the letterhead has the heading of Dan and Ginger Lamb, Exploration and Motion Pictures. But there would be only one movie called Quest for the Lost City, which was released in the 1950s and went into broad distribution. STEPHEN HOUSTON: Its a great honor and pleasure, Jim. And we know that Lamb heard about this ruin when he was in the jungle beginning this filming project. [6], Structural lintel over entrance, Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece, The lintel stone at the Treasury of Atreus (external view), The lintel stone at the Treasury of Atreus (internal view), Structural lintel over the entry to main Buddhist shrine, Phimai historical park, Thailand, Shebna Inscription on a lintel of a tomb cave near Jerusalem, 8th/7th century BCE, Structural lintel with a lauburu and founders' names, above traditional Basque houses in Lower Navarre, Spain. [5], Lintels may also be used to reduce scattered radiation in medical applications. A bloodletting ritual. HOUSTON: There isnt a Maya ruin Ive ever visited And Ive visited literally hundreds, if not thousands, at this point, including ones that are often under heavy guard. And that is to find out more about the carvingwho made it and why, what it might communicate more broadly about the Maya and ancient imagery more generally. Write AAA above the verb if it is active and PPP if it is passive. It was a significant Maya centerduring the Classic period (250-900 C.E.) Not necessarily of royal commissions, but ones that are undertaken by local nobility. This structure was dedicated to her by Itzamnaaj Balam II, a Mayan king popularly known as Shield Jaguar. So at the moment, I have documented at least about 130 named carvers. ", u-ba-ti-CHAB-li IX-CHAK?-ku-na-XOK-ki IX-k'a[ba]-la-XOK-ki IX-KALOM-TE Rome? But also, as with the ruler and the magnate above, theyre identifiable in the writing, in the text nearby, as flesh-and-blood real underlings of the time. But also, as I mentioned before, that the setting truly matterswhere the building was found, what that building might have presented architecturally, what might be the archaeological deposits nearby. Tikal has 1, Palenque has 5 doorways? In Yaxchilan, structure 23 is seen as the place of Lady Xoc's. Its very, very fine. Lintel 25 (below)from the central doorwayalso focuses on a bloodletting ritual carried out by Lady Xook. But the pigments were cooked in such a way as to cause them to blend in a manner that could be successfully applied to the surface. Shield Jaguar II's commissions at Yaxchiln's central complex of buildings (called the Central Acropolis) include carved lintels (the beam at the top of a doorway), stairs faced with hieroglyphic writing, and stele (upright wood or stone slab monuments). Such Maya rituals as bloodletting were only enacted on slaves. Many of the exteriors had elaborate decorations, but it is the carved stone lintels above their doorways which have made this site famous. The lintel is done in high relief style with the background deeply recessed. And I was being, I think, a little audacious in that statement I just made about stability, because obviously, looting does thrive in conditions of instability. We dont really know. was first hung. CUNO: This episode was produced by Zoe Goldman and Karen Fritsche, with audio production by Gideon Brower and mixing by Myke Dodge Weiskopf. The king is wearing his hair back with quetzal feathers indicating that he will also let blood in this ceremony. What event is portrayed in the elaborately carved lintel showing the maya ruler shield jaguar and his wife lady xoc ( 4.6.6)? And so by walking around it, youre, in some ways, participating in whatever kinetic activity that involved. Sculptures made of jade range from deity figures (1979.206.1069) made for cached offerings to amulets (02.18.309) and beads to be worn by rulers and deposited in their funerary chambers to be taken with them to the afterlife. Lintel 24 is the designation given by modern archaeologists to an ancient Maya limestone sculpture from Yaxchilan, in modern Chiapas, Mexico. Lintels 24 and 25 are on permanent display in the British Museum's Mexican Gallery. Examples of the ornamental use of lintels are in the hypostyle halls and slab stelas in ancient Egypt and the Indian rock-cut architecture of Buddhist temples in caves. Elaborately carved lintels of sapodilla wood, some 1,000 years old, are still seen in some Mayan ruins. It might be that the ruler wanted to promote his lineage and power through his principal wife (who had more prestige than his other wives). Recent excavations have unearthed what is thought to be the tombs of Itzamnaaj Bahlam and Lady Xoc within Structure 23. A lintel may support the chimney above a fireplace, or span the distance of a path or road, forming a stone lintel bridge. We dont know what the ancient name of the city was. The Narmer Palette is the name of an elaborately carved shield-shaped slab of gray schist made during the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt (ca. The entrances of important buildings usually received decorative carving or painting. Does lintel 26 depict the same thing? And the carver that the local lord employed to create this piece, a person whose name we know, Mayuy, was almost certainly from an antagonistic dynasty to the north, a place called Piedras Negras, which is quite renowned in the history of Maya culture and civilization. This buildings construction is therefore important, and so too are the individuals it showcases. And so many of them went to, of all places, Canada, which was, of course, part of the British Empire as well, until fairly recently. "Lady K'abal Xook pulls a thorned rope through her tongue in the principal form of blood sacrifice perfomed by royal women." Its also very helpful if you plan to travel to one of the locations. represents? 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what event is portrayed in the elaborately carved lintel