Edward Herbert Thompson

Unsubmitted

Edward Herbert Thompson (September 28, 1857 - May 11, 1935) was a United States born archaeologist and diplomat who is best known for his study of ancient Mayan culture. He worked extensively in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where he uncovered several novel artifacts. Thompson traveled extensively across the region and went to great lengths to associate himself with the Mayans. He was famous in his time for the discoveries that he made at Cenote Sagrado and elsewhere across the Yucatán. His work would serve to unlock ancient secrets and confirm Mayan legends. Much about Mayan civilization would have remained lost to the world without the lengthy labor of this dedicated archaeologist. Thompson carried out his research on site for more than 40 years before returning to the United States.

Early life

Edward H. Thompson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Initially inspired by the books of explorers John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, Thompson devoted much of his career to study of the Maya civilization. In 1847, four years after Catherwood published his Incidents of Travel in Yucatán, the Caste War broke out and effectively prevented safe exploration of the region for approximately 6 decades. Thompson would be one of the first to return to the area.

Career and later life

In 1879, Popular Science Monthly published an article ("Atlantis: Not a Myth") by Thompson in which he argued that the ancient Mayan monuments, which he had never seen except in books, were proof of the lost continent of Atlantis—an opinion which his later researches would change. The article attracted the attention of Stephen Salisbury III, scion of an American railroad baron and a benefactor of the American Antiquarian Society, who persuaded Thompson to move to Yucatán to explore the ruins on his behalf. Senator George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts agreed to help subsidize Thompson's efforts by recommending him for the post of United States consul to Yucatan.

Thompson arrived in Mérida, Yucatán, in 1885 with his wife, Henrietta Hamblin Thompson, and infant daughter and thereafter spent most of his life in Yucatán. Although he spoke only English upon his arrival, he quickly learned Spanish and also became fluent in the Yucatec Maya language. He also studied Maya legends and customs, as he attempted to better acquaint himself with the native population. He traveled far and wide while in the region.

Thompson did early extensive examinations at Labná, picking that site because little work had previously been done there and the fact that because of its distance from any modern settlement had left it relatively undisturbed in modern times. He also discovered a number of smaller sites in the Puuc region.

He made a series of plaster casts of Maya sculptures and architecture, particularly from Uxmal and Labná, which were exhibited at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893.

With the help of the wealthy Alison Armour, Thompson in 1894 purchased the plantation that included the site of Chichen Itza. He rebuilt the hacienda, which had been destroyed in the Caste War of Yucatán. For 30 years he explored the site, on behalf of the Field Columbian Museum, the American Antiquarian Society, the Peabody Museum at Harvard University and others. His discoveries included the earliest dated carving upon a lintel in the Temple of the Initial Series and the excavation of several graves in the Ossario (High Priest’s Temple).

Mayan Pyramids

Thompson discovered tools and building materials that helped to explain how the Maya had constructed their pyramids without the use of metal tools. He also found the Maya Œdate stone, later named the Tablet of the Initial Series, which functioned to decode the dates of Chichén-Itzá's classic period.

Thompson is most famous for dredging the Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Cenote) from 1904 to 1910, where he recovered artifacts of gold, copper and carved jade, as well as the first-ever examples of what were believed to be pre-Columbian Maya cloth and wooden weapons. Thompson also eventually recovered human skeletons from the site, confirming the notion that sacrifice had been employed here by the former inhabitants. Thompson shipped the bulk of the artifacts to the Peabody Museum. In 1926, the Mexican government seized Thompson's plantation, charging he had removed the artifacts illegally. The Mexican Supreme Court in 1944 ruled in Thompson's favor. Thompson, however, had died in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1935, so the property reverted to his heirs.

Legacy

After a period of intense and dangerous warfare that served to prevent extensive exploration, Edward H. Thompson entered the Yucatán determined to uncover the secrets of the mythic Mayan civilization. He was to become the youngest consul ever upon venturing to Mexico with his immediate family near the end of the nineteenth century. Because he decided to intermingle with the local indigenous populace, Thompson was afforded advantages over less hospitable archaeologists in the region who kept their distance from the people. In his time, Thompson's findings rocketed him to fame and helped to establish a much firmer understanding of the ancient Maya. He was dedicated to his life's work and went to great lengths to better understand this remarkable and unique civilization. He is best remembered for his work on the Cenote Sagrado. The hacienda he rebuilt on the plantation he purchased (which included the site of Chichén-Itzá) now serves as the Hacienda Chichen Hotel.

The length of his sojourn among the Mayans and his technique in learning language and in immersing himself in Mayan culture resemble the field work techniques of anthropologists although few spend as long a period as he did engaged in their research. Only by the commitment and dedication of such scholars as Thompson can ancient civilizations whose stories have been by-passed or neglected or even trampled on by the passage of history be given their voice once more.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Ceram, C. W. 1986. Gods, Graves, and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology. New York: Vintage Books, 1986 ISBN 9780394743196
• Keen, Benjamin. 1971. The Aztec Image in Western Thought. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1971 ISBN 9780813506982
• Shane, Orrin C., and Clemency Chase Coggins, eds. 1984. Cenote of Sacrifice: Maya Treasures from the Sacred Well of Chichen Itza. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9789681630744
• Silverberg, Robert. 1997. Great adventures in archaeology. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803292475
• Thompson, Edward Herbert. 1932. People of the Serpent: Life & Adventure among the Mayas. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 322438

External links

• Edward Herbert Thompson biography Retrieved August 24, 2008.
• Hacienda Chichen Resort - Edward Herbert Thompson Retrieved August 24, 2008.
• Edward Herbert Thompson excavation photos Retrieved August 24, 2008.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Edward Herbert Thompson  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Edward Herbert Thompson"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.