Maya stone carving depicting two figures, one armored, with one holding a staff and the other in a kneeling position, surrounded by intricate carvings and symbols, displayed on a red wall.

Lady K'abal Xook (Lady Xoc)

Classic Period Maya Queen (8th century CE)

The principal wife of King Shield Jaguar, Lady K'abal Xook was a queen of Yaxchilán in the Classic period. Today, a series of lintels depicting her engaged in bloodletting and experiencing a vision serpent help us to understand her story.

Ancient Maya stone relief showing two figures, one standing and one kneeling, with elaborate headwear and clothing, in a museum display with a red background.

Bloodletting and Lady Xook

Mayan stone carving with hieroglyphics, on display in a museum, featuring intricate patterns and figures on a purple background.

What is a lintel?

Learn more about the Classic Maya and Yaxchilán

  • Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya (London: Thames & Hudson, 2000).

    Carolyn E. Tate, Yaxchilán: The Design of a Maya Ceremonial City (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992).

    Lintel 25 at the British Museum

Ancient stone carving depicting a mythological scene with stylized human and animal figures, intricate geometric patterns, and detailed hieroglyphic-like inscriptions, likely from pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilization.

Lintel 25, Lady K’abal Xook experiences a Vision Serpent