King Shield Jaguar holds a torch while Lady Xoc sheds blood from her tongue. The royal couple are adorned with signs of sacrifice. The king wears the shrunken head of a sacrificial victim atop his own head and a special rope collar worn during blood sacrifice rites, which indicates the king, too, will shed blood. The lintel's carved glyphs date the scene to October 28, AD. 709. For more information, see The Blood of Kings, p. 186

Justin Kerr