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This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
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(Excerpt from A Page of American History
Modern Yucatan f...)
Excerpt from A Page of American History
Modern Yucatan finds it hard herself to realize that such events as are described herein have taken place within her borders and within the memory of men still living.
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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Archaeological Researches in Yucatan: Reports of Explorations for the Museum (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Archaeological Researches in Yucatan: Report...)
Excerpt from Archaeological Researches in Yucatan: Reports of Explorations for the Museum
In a hillside to the southeast Of the pueblo is The Cave of the Dead. Entering the narrow mouth of the cave and following a rough inclined sur face for a distance of about forty yards, we came to a crevice in the floor. A lighted candle lowered burned clear, and revealed firm ground about nine feet below. Entering with some difiiculty, I found myself in a rough, tunnel like chamber, with the floor sloping upward and pillars of beautiful brown crystals of calcite glistening and scintillating in the light Of the candle. The floor was also Of crystalline calcite, and in its structure were imbedded and clearly visible many human bones. Some had projected above the glistening surface, but these had been hacked or broken Off. So far as the chamber floor could be examined, it was covered with human bones.
A portion of the floor, owing to impurities, is of an opaque character, but investigation proved it to be also thickly covered with bones. For some reason skulls or their fragments do not seem to be as numerous as they should be. I asked Of the native hunters who first found this cave if they had found and carried away or destroyed any skulls, or if they had known of_any one who had done so since the discovery, and they unhesi tatingly answered to the contrary. Portions of skulls were, however, found, and teeth as well. The frontal bones were not flattened nor were the teeth ornamented or filed. Fragments of vessels of unmistakable antiquity were found in numbers, intermixed with the bones, and clearly indicate that these bones are not of modern burial. In places the dripping water has worn away instead of depositing lime material, and in the basins thus formed are found bones, pebbles, and potsherds, all equally worn and rounded by the dripping and rippling of the water around them. The problems presented by the finding Of this accumulation of human bones in such a strange situation are difficult to solve. From the fragments encountered it is clear that many earthen vessels had been placed in the cave, and it may well be that many persons seeking refuge from some sudden invasion were caught entrapped by their enemies and_ so perished; or, this may have been a general burial - cave. But these caves are full of surprises by reason of their natural formation, and perhaps future investigation which I have in view may solve the problem. The native hunters who first found and entered the cave say that they found several vessels of hard burned clay. They were perfect when found, but when taken home were given by their Wives as playthings to their children. An earthen vessel in the hands Of a native child soon ceases to be of value to science.
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Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Edward Herbert Thompson was an American explorer and archeologist.
Background
Edward H. Thompson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1856. He was the son of Josiah A. Thompson, a station agent for the Boston & Worcester Railroad, and Mary E. (Thayer) Thompson.
As a boy he was an eager collector of Indian relics and his favorite books were those of travel and exploration – especially John L. Stephen's Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (2 vols. , 1843).
Education
He was educated in the public schools of his native city and spent two years at the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science, which later became the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Career
Until 1885 he engaged in various work for which his training fitted him. A brief article, "Atlantis Not a Myth" (Popular Science Monthly, October 1879) advanced the novel suggestion that the mysterious civilization of the Mayas might be "a broken branch of the civilization that once existed in the lost continent of Atlantis. " This attracted the attention of Stephen Salisbury, Jr. , vice-president of the American Antiquarian Society, who was greatly interested in Mayan research. He and other members of the Antiquarian Society, including George F. Hoar and Edward E. Hale, all Harvard alumni, wished that certain Mayan structures in Yucatan be scientifically investigated, and at Senator Hoar's request President Cleveland had promised to name the man of their choice as consul to Mexico, stationed at Merida, with the understanding that such time as could be spared from his consular duties he might devote to this investigation. They offered to recommend Thompson and he accepted. On February 14, 1885, he was appointed.
With his wife and an infant daughter he sailed for Yucatan, where he began a career which covered more than forty years. He served at Merida until 1893 and was consul at Progreso from 1897 to 1909. For the investigations he undertook he had had no formal training in archeology and kindred sciences, nor any supervised field work in geology and mineralogy; but he was courageous, resourceful, and full of fiery enthusiasm. His wife was of great assistance in both his official and archeological activities.
In his years of Mayan exploration rarely was any white man associated with him. At the very start he decided that for him the best and surest way to lay the foundation for future success was to live as much as possible with the natives, to master their language, study their legends and psychology, and make them his friends. He quickly learned to adapt himself to the climate and on his long exploring trips to "go native. " He soon won the affection and confidence of the natives, even being made a full member of the Sh'Tol Brothers, one of the most ancient Maya secret societies, and he had opportunities to witness ceremonies and rites that no other white man had ever seen.
Brief reports of some of his researches began to appear in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society and the reports of the Peabody Museum the year after he reached Yucatan. He also made phonograph and kinetoscope records of the Sh'Tol ceremonies and exhibited them at the International Congress of Americanists in 1902 at New York. An enterprise for which the secretary of state gave him an indefinite leave of absence and to which President Porfirio Diaz lent all possible aid, was the making in papier-mâché of fullsized molds and casts of some of the most significant and beautiful examples of Maya architecture. For fourteen months, often in malarial jungles, with a large staff of Maya natives, Thompson worked upon this task. The resulting reproductions, erected near the Anthropological Building at the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, 1893) under the direction of Frederick W. Putnam of the Peabody Museum, stimulated an interest in Mayan civilization in visitors from all over the world.
Impressed by the Maya exhibit at the Columbian Exposition, Allison V. Armour of Chicago made several visits to the scene of Thompson's activities, and finally made it possible for him to purchase a plantation of approximately 100 square miles for his home and headquarters, with the prospect that it might be developed as a productive enterprise. Comprised within this area was a tract named Chichen Itza, about three miles square, whereon were located not only some fourteen of the Maya structures of most significance for the archeologist's study but also the Sacred Well. For some time he had been obsessed by the belief that the exploration of this was to prove the "culminating achievement of his career. "
The Sacred Well was a vast "kettle-hole" irregularly oval in shape; its dimensions approximately 250 by 185 feet, its precipitous sides falling sheer fully 70 feet to the surface of the water; and below that surface some 60 feet further remained to be explored before sounding the lowest depth. Thompson's theory regarding it, strengthened by the ancient traditions reported to him by his native Maya friends, was that their ancestors had believed that the great Rain God lived at the bottom of the well, and that at times of drought or other disaster they had sought to propitiate him by sacrifices of their greatest treasures, their fairest maidens, the fiercest warriors among their captives, articles of gold, jade and precious stones.
He finally went to Boston, contracted for a full dredging outfit, and took lessons to qualify himself for deep-sea diving. He then announced his plans to his sponsors, among them Stephen Salisbury and Charles P. Bowditch, both officers of the American Antiquarian Society and of Harvard University. They were willing to finance the scheme, but hesitant to take upon themselves any responsibility for his life. His insistence overcame their fears, and he returned to Chichen Itza, with the equipment. Dredging soon brought to light articles of great archeological interest – pottery, tools, and ornaments – but not confirmation of the traditions of human sacrifices to propitiate the Rain God. Summoning from the Bahamas a Greek sponge-diver and his assistant, he at last had the satisfaction of securing conclusive proof by discovering scores of skulls, as well as hundreds of articles of rare archeological interest. Many of these treasures were deposited in the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. His great Chichen Itza estate he had leased to the Carnegie Institution of Washington. For fifteen years it served as the center for its specialists' many lines of systematic exploration and restoration.
Meantime the Mexican Government had become interested in what had been happening at Chichen Itza. Rumor had greatly exaggerated the estimate of intrinsic value of the treasures recovered from the Sacred Well. Charging that in exporting them Thompson had violated the Mexican law that banned the exportation of such articles of archeological interest without governmental permission, the Mexican Government, now unfriendly to Thompson, instituted a suit for 1, 300, 000 pesos, and "embargoed" the entire Thompson estate. In response to an urgent appeal for help, Thompson hastened to the rescue of a group of his friends under threat of death at the hands of Carranza forces. Securing control of a small unfinished schooner, short of sails and without sextant or quadrant, he put aboard provisions for eleven passengers, but twenty-six crowded aboard. Eluding watchful enemy boats lying in wait for them, they succeeded in reaching Havana in thirteen days. This was Thompson's final farewell to Yucatan.
He spent the remaining years of his life within the United States, writing, lecturing, and carrying on some congenial exploration of Indian remains in Oklahoma. He died of heart disease at the home of his eldest son in Plainfield, N. J.
Before he was twenty he became a member of the Worcester Natural History Society, contributed to its collections, and presented papers on studies he had made.
Connections
On February 6, 1883, he had married Henrietta T. Hamblin, a schoolteacher.
He was survived by three sons, Edward J. , Ernest H. , Vincent A. , and two daughters, Alice and Margarita.