Hello, my name is Ms. Krijnauw.

Welcome to today's fascinating lesson about a unique and important practise in Ancient Maya culture: bloodletting.

As we journey back in time to the vibrant world of the Maya civilization, we will discover how and why the Maya performed this ritual and what it meant to their society.

This history lesson is entitled "Bloodletting and the Maya," and it is part of a unit about non-European societies.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain why bloodletting was important to the Maya, and it is my job to support you with the learning materials and resources.

Before we start the lesson, I would like to introduce you to some important keywords.

These are words that will come up during the lesson.

You might want to make a note of these words so that you can refer back to them when we encounter them in the lesson.

The words are: lintel, bloodletting.

Let's find out what the words mean.

Lintel.

A lintel is the beam, such as a piece of stone or wood over a door or window which supports the bricks above the door or window.

Bloodletting.

Bloodletting was the practise of cutting a part of the body to release blood.

This lesson about bloodletting and the Maya has two learning cycles, and the first is entitled, "Archaeological Discovery at Yaxchilan." Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city on the bank of the Usumacinta River in Mexico.

It was here that archaeologists made a remarkable discovery, which helped them learn more about Maya religious beliefs and royal ceremonies.

Above a door of one of the buildings, the archaeologists found a stone lintel, intricately carved with detailed figures and symbols.

The archaeologists saw that the carved stone lintel depicted a vivid scene of a bloodletting ritual performed by King Shield Jaguar the Great and Lady Xook.

But who was King Shield Jaguar the Great and who was Lady Xook? Let's find out.

King Shield Jaguar the Great was a Maya ruler and reigned over Yaxchilan from around 681 to 742 CE.

He was a brave leader who won many battles and protected his city from enemies.

He made sure that Yaxchilan was a strong and important city state.

He loved building amazing structures like temples and stone monuments.

These buildings were decorated with beautiful carvings and drawings that told stories of his victories and honoured the gods.

Under his rule, the city of Yaxchilan was a place full of art and culture.

The people created incredible carvings and wrote inscriptions that showed their history and beliefs.

Lady Xook was the wife of King Shield Jaguar the Great.

She was an important queen who helped her husband rule and performed special ceremonies.

She came from a noble family and her marriage to Shield Jaguar helped make strong alliances with other important families.

Let's check for understanding.

Answer this question.

Which of the following is not an image of a lintel? Is it A, B, or C? Did you manage to spot the odd one out? Indeed, A is a photo of a stone lintel.

B is a photo of lentils, and C is a photo of a carved lintel.

Well done.

Complete the sentences by using the same keyword.

The practise of cutting a part of the body to release blood is known as mm.

And mm rituals were a part of Maya religious ceremonies.

Now, the same word goes into the blank spaces.

What could it be? Did you say that the word is bloodletting? Because if you did, you are right.

The practise of cutting a part of the body to release blood is known as bloodletting.

Bloodletting rituals were a part of Maya religious ceremonies.

Good work.

Take a moment to study the carved stone lintel closely.

What do you notice? In the centre of the lintel, King Shield Jaguar the Great and Lady Xook are shown in profile facing each other in a ritualistic posture.

The king is standing up and his wife kneels in front of him.

The expressions on their faces show determination and seriousness, indicating the importance of this ritual.

Their determined and intense looks show their dedication to their religious duties and the significance they place on these ceremonies.

King Shield Jaguar is shown holding a torch above his wife's head to illuminate the scene.

It is meant to indicate his support and participation in the ritual.

Lady Xook is shown pulling a thorned rope through her tongue, which causes blood to drip into a woven basket.

Part of this ritual was to collect the blood as an offering to the gods.

This particular scene highlights the significant role of women, especially noble women like Lady Xook in Maya rituals and their active participation in upholding religious traditions.

And so this was Lady Xook's role in the royal ritual of bloodletting.

Around the king and his wife, there are hieroglyphic inscriptions that give us clues about when this bloodletting ritual happened, who was there and why it was important.

And this is why archaeologists know that the individuals involved in the ritual were King Shield Jaguar the Great and Lady Xook.

They know that it depicts a bloodletting ritual and that the specific ritual depicted on the stone lintel took place on October the 28th, 709 CE.

Let's take a moment to consolidate our learning.

The statement below is incorrect.

Identify the mistake and correct it.

The king's wife took part in the bloodletting ritual by pulling a thorned rope through her ear.

Pause the video here and once you've identified that mistake, press play to check your answer.

Did you say that the mistake was that she did not pull the thorned rope through her ear, but through her tongue? Well done if you got that correct.

We are now ready for the first learning task of this lesson.

It says, label the image of the bloodletting ritual from Yaxchilan by using these labels: the king, the king's torch, the king's wife, rope with thorns being pulled through the wife's tongue, basket for collecting blood, hieroglyphs.

Pause the video here, and once you've labelled the image, press play to check your answers.

Let's investigate the answers.

The first one is the king's torch in the top right-hand corner.

The king's wife is kneeling in front of him and she is pulling a rope with thorns through her tongue.

There's a basket beneath her for collecting blood.

The king is standing to the left of her and the hieroglyphs left side at the top, but there are also some on the left-hand side.

Well done if you got all those correct.

The second learning cycle of this lesson is entitled, "Maya Beliefs and Bloodletting Rituals." The bloodletting ritual was a very important ceremony for the Maya people.

In the bloodletting ceremony, Lady Xook pulled a rope with thorns through her tongue to make it bleed.

This may seem extreme or even painful to us, but to the Maya, it was a way to connect with their gods.

The mare believed that bloodletting, especially when performed by members of nobility, had powerful spiritual significance.

They thought that offering blood could open a direct line of communication with the gods and ancestors.

The Maya believed that blood contained vital life force and offering its in rituals was a way to establish a connection with a divine realm.

By letting out some of their own blood.

noble individuals like Lady Xook could communicate with the gods and ancestors.

The Maya had a special belief about blood.

According to Maya beliefs, the gods had created humans using their own blood.

So blood was seen as something very powerful and very sacred.

The involvement of high ranking individuals such as kings and queens in bloodletting rituals emphasised their special relationship with the gods.

It was believed that their blood was particularly potent and valuable for these sacred ceremonies.

By performing the bloodletting ritual, Lady Xook and other Maya rulers believed that they were creating a connection between themselves and the divine world.

Bloodletting was a way of showing their respect and thanks to the gods for creating them and for everything they had given them.

During these rituals, the participants would ask for various forms of divine assistance, such as blessings for good harvests, victories in battles, or overall protection and prosperity for their people.

So let's check for understanding.

Which statement explains why the king's wife took part in the bloodletting ritual? Is it A, so that she could speak with the gods? Or B, to cure herself from a disease? Did you say that the answer was A, so that she could speak with the gods? Well done if you did.

Why did the Maya believe that blood was sacred? Is it A, they thought that it could help heal illnesses? Or B, they thought that the gods had created humans using their own blood? The answer, of course, is B.

They thought that the Gods had created humans using their own blood.

Good work.

For Maya rulers like King Shield Jaguar the Great and Lady Xook, performing the bloodletting ritual was also a way to prove their authority and leadership.

In other words, to show that they were the right people to rule.

By participating in bloodletting rituals, Maya rulers showed their devotion to the gods and their willingness to undergo personal pain, to undergo discomfort and sacrifice for the greater good of their people.

This act of devotion helped reinforce their status as the rightful leaders in the eyes of their subjects.

Let's consolidate our learning.

Which one of the statements below justifies Izzy's opinion? So Izzy says, "The Maya bloodletting ritual was a way to prove a ruler's authority and leadership." So A, it showed that they were willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of the people.

B, it showed that they were willing to sacrifice others for the greater good of their people.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

Let's investigate the answer.

The Maya bloodletting ritual was a way to prove a leader's authority and leadership because? It showed that they were willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of their people.

If you got that correct, a big well done.

We have now come to the second learning task of this lesson, which says, use the words and phrases below to explain why bloodletting was important to the Maya.

Talk to the gods, sacred, created humans, authority and leadership.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

Let's investigate a possible answer.

The bloodletting ceremony was an important Maya ritual.

They believed bloodletting allowed them to talk to the gods.

In Maya culture, blood was powerful and sacred because they believed that the gods had created the human race using their own blood.

For Maya rulers, the bloodletting ritual proved their authority and leadership, and that they were the right people to rule.

After all, they were willing to make sacrifices and endure pain for the greater good of the people.

Well done if your answer is similar to this and a great big well done if you managed to use all the words highlighted in green.

We have now come to the end of this lesson about bloodletting and the Maya.

But before we go, let's summarise what we have learned.

In Yaxchilan, archaeologists found a carved stone lintel showing the mare bloodletting ritual.

It is an image of a king's wife pulling a thorned rope through her tongue to make it bleed.

The Maya believed that bloodletting connected them to the gods.

Blood was sacred to the Maya because they believed that the gods used their own blood to create humans.

Maya rulers use the bloodletting ceremony to show respect and thanks to the gods and to prove their authority and leadership.

Well done on all your hard work today.

And thank you for joining me as we travelled back in time to learn about the Maya and their bloodletting rituals.

I hope to see you again very soon.