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|residence =
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|nationality = [[United States]]
|nationality = American
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|field = [[archaeology]] (looter)
|field = [[archaeology]]
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|influences = [[John Lloyd Stephens]]
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}}'''Edward Herbert Thompson''' (September 28, 1857 – May 11, 1935) was an American-born [[archaeologist]] and [[diplomat]].
}}'''Edward Herbert Thompson''' (September 28, 1857 – May 11, 1935) was an American-born [[archaeologist]] and long-time [[consul (representative)|consul]] to [[Yucatán]], Mexico.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Edward H. Thompson was born in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]. Thompson devoted much of his career to study of the [[Maya civilization]].
Edward H. Thompson was born in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]. Initially inspired by the books of [[John Lloyd Stephens]], Thompson devoted much of his career to study of the [[Maya civilization]]. In 1879, ''[[Popular Science Monthly]]'' published "Atlantis Not a Myth", an article 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]]<ref name="Burgess">{{cite book|last=Burgess|first=Robert F.|authorlink=Robert Forrest Burgess|title=The Cave Divers|year=1999|publisher=Aqua Quest Publications|location=[[Locust Valley, New York]]|pages=50–57|isbn=1-881652-11-4|lccn=96-39661|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbwrLGZDMHMC&pg=PA50|chapter=Into the Well of Death}}</ref><ref>Edward H. Thompson, "[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033549/1880-02-04/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1836&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=Atlantis+ATLANTIS&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=14&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=Atlantis&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=7 Atlantis Not a Myth]", ''Alpena Weekly Argus'', February 04, 1880</ref>--an opinion which his later researches would change. The article attracted the attention of [[Stephen Salisbury III]], son of an American landowner and a benefactor of the [[American Antiquarian Society]], who persuaded Thompson to move to [[Yucatán (state)|Yucatán]] to explore the ruins on his behalf. Thompson was later elected a member of the AAS in 1887.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistt American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref> Senator [[George Frisbie Hoar]] of Massachusetts agreed to help subsidize Thompson's efforts by recommending him for the post of United States consul to Yucatán.
[[File:Chichen itza.JPG|thumb|Chichen Itza, El Castillo, 2009.]]
Thompson arrived in [[Mérida, Yucatán]], in 1885 and thereafter spent most of his life in Yucatán.<ref name="Burgess"/> Although he spoke only English upon his arrival, he quickly learned Spanish and also became fluent in the [[Yucatec Maya language]].


In 1879, ''[[Popular Science Monthly]]'' published "Atlantis Not a Myth", an article by Thompson in which he argued that the indigenous civilizations of North and Central America could be remnants of the lost continent of [[Atlantis]].<ref>Edward H. Thompson, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=2XdJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA759]", ''Popular Science Monthly'', October 1879</ref> The article attracted the attention of [[Stephen Salisbury III]], a wealthy Worcester resident, [[Mayanist]], and principal benefactor of the [[American Antiquarian Society]]. Salisbury, along with fellow AAS members The Rev. [[Edward Everett Hale]] and Massachusetts Senator [[George Frisbie Hoar]], persuaded Thompson to move to [[Yucatán (state)|Yucatán]] to explore the Maya ruins in exchange for receiving an appointment as American Consul.<ref name="Thompson32">{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Edward Herbert|author-link=Edward Herbert Thompson|title=People of the Serpent|year=1932|publisher=Houghton Mifflin & Sons|location=[[Boston]]|page=18}}</ref>
Thompson did early extensive examinations at [[Labná]], picking that site because little work had previously been done there and because 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.
Thompson arrived in [[Mérida, Yucatán]], in 1885 and lived there for forty years.<ref name="Albright15">{{cite book|last=Albright|first=Evan J.|title=The Man Who Owned a Wonder of the World|year=2015|publisher=Bohlin Carr Inc.|location=[[Bourne, Massachusetts]]|pages=34, 41, 331–338|isbn=978-1-939607-02-7}}</ref> Although he spoke only English upon his arrival, he learned Spanish and also became fluent in the [[Yucatec Maya language]].<ref name="Thompson32p39">{{harvnb|Thompson|1932|p=39}}</ref>


Thompson did early examinations and excavations of several sites in the Maya [[Puuc]] region, including [[Loltun]] and [[Labná]]; at the latter site publishing a monograph on the Maya underground storage containers known as chultunes.<ref name="Thompson32p89-108">{{harvnb|Thompson|1932|pp=89–108}}</ref> He also became the first explorer to find and excavate a small site he called [[X'Kichmook]].<ref name="Thompson98">{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Edward Herbert|author-link=Edward Herbert Thompson|title=Ruins of XKichmook|year=1898|publisher=Field Columbian Museum |location=[[Chicago]]|page=213}}</ref>
⚫
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.


⚫
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.<ref name="Thompson32p140-149">{{harvnb|Thompson|1932|pp=140–149}}</ref>
⚫
With the help of 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 Museum of Natural History|Field Columbian Museum]], the [[American Antiquarian Society]], the [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology|Peabody Museum]] at [[Harvard University]] and others. His discoveries included the earliest dated carving upon a lintel in the [[Chichen Itza#Temple of the Tables|Temple of the Initial Series]] and the excavation of several graves in the [[Chichen Itza#Ossario|Ossario]] (High Priest’s Temple).


⚫
With the help of Alison Armour, Thompson in 1894 purchased the [[plantation]] that included the site of [[Chichen Itza]].<ref name="Albright15p115-122">{{harvnb|Albright|2015|pp=115–122}}</ref> He rebuilt the [[hacienda]], which had been destroyed in the [[Caste War of Yucatán]]. For thirty years he explored the site, on behalf of the [[Field Museum of Natural History|Field Columbian Museum]], the [[American Antiquarian Society]], the [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology|Peabody Museum]] at [[Harvard University]] and others. His discoveries included the earliest dated carving upon a lintel in the [[Chichen Itza#Temple of the Tables|Temple of the Initial Series]]<ref name="Thompson32p251-8">{{harvnb|Thompson|1932|pp=251–8}}</ref> and the excavation of several graves in the [[Chichen Itza#Ossario|Ossario]] (High Priest’s Temple).<ref name="Albright15p129-32">{{harvnb|Albright|2015|pp=129–32}}</ref>
⚫
Thompson is most famous for dredged and plundered 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 shipped the bulk of the artifacts to the [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology|Peabody Museum]].<ref name="Burgess"/> 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 Hacienda Chichen reverted to his heirs.


⚫
Thompson is most famous for dredging the Cenote Sagrado ([[Sacred Cenote]]) from 1904 to 1911, 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 shipped the bulk of the artifacts to the [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology|Peabody Museum]].<ref name="Albright15p171-224">{{harvnb|Albright|2015|pp=171–224}}</ref> In 1926, the Mexican government seized Thompson's plantation, charging he had removed the artifacts illegally.<ref name="Albright15p334-5">{{harvnb|Albright|2015|pp=334–5}}</ref> The Mexican Supreme Court in 1944 ruled in Thompson's favor.<ref name="Albright15p406">{{harvnb|Albright|2015|p=406}}</ref> Thompson, however, had died in [[Plainfield, New Jersey]] in 1935, so the Hacienda Chichen reverted to his heirs.<ref name="Albright15p397,409">{{harvnb|Albright|2015|pp=397, 409}}</ref>
In 1923, [[Alma Reed]], an American [[journalist]] who came to Yucatan at that time, reported in the [[New York Times]] on Thompson's transgressions and caused a stir in the cultural and archaeological circles of the United States, to the point that the efforts of the Institute Carnegie to scientifically explore and restore the site back then were compromised.

Alma Reed's first presence in Yucatan occurred within the framework of the request for the Carnegie Expedition, which had been organized by the Institute of the same name, incorporating a large group of archaeologists and anthropologists, including Sylvanus Morley. They had arrived on an evaluation and rescue mission from the Mayan ruins.

The Yucatan Magazine, for its part, referred in its editions from July 21 to 28, 19269 to the public accusations that arose and were aired, raising great outrage in Yucatecan society.


==References==
==References==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikisource author}}
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
*Thompson, Edward H. (1931), ''People of the Serpent''
*Coggins, Clemency, Editor (1984), ''Cenote of Sacrifice: Maya Treasures from the Sacred Well of Chichen Itza''


==External links==
30 photographs of Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, and Labná from the 1888-91 Thompson/Peabody Museum expedition. http://academic.reed.edu/uxmal/galleries/thumbnails/drawings/Drawings-Thompson.htm
{{Commons category}}
* [http://academic.reed.edu/uxmal/galleries/thumbnails/drawings/Drawings-Thompson.htm 30 photographs of Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, and Labná from the 1888-91 Thompson/Peabody Museum expedition.]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:20th-century Mesoamericanists]]
[[Category:20th-century Mesoamericanists]]
[[Category:Members of the American Antiquarian Society]]
[[Category:Members of the American Antiquarian Society]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Mexico]]

Latest revision as of 17:53, 9 August 2023

For other people named Edward Thompson, see Edward Thompson (disambiguation).

Edward Herbert Thompson
Edward Herbert Thompson
BornSeptember 28, 1857
Worcester, Massachusetts
DiedMay 11, 1935(1935-05-11) (aged 77)
Plainfield, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Known forMaya civilization
Scientific career
Fieldsarchaeology

Edward Herbert Thompson (September 28, 1857 – May 11, 1935) was an American-born archaeologist and long-time consul to Yucatán, Mexico.

Biography

[edit]

Edward H. Thompson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Thompson devoted much of his career to study of the Maya civilization.

In 1879, Popular Science Monthly published "Atlantis Not a Myth", an article by Thompson in which he argued that the indigenous civilizations of North and Central America could be remnants of the lost continent of Atlantis.[1] The article attracted the attention of Stephen Salisbury III, a wealthy Worcester resident, Mayanist, and principal benefactor of the American Antiquarian Society. Salisbury, along with fellow AAS members The Rev. Edward Everett Hale and Massachusetts Senator George Frisbie Hoar, persuaded Thompson to move to Yucatán to explore the Maya ruins in exchange for receiving an appointment as American Consul.[2] Thompson arrived in Mérida, Yucatán, in 1885 and lived there for forty years.[3] Although he spoke only English upon his arrival, he learned Spanish and also became fluent in the Yucatec Maya language.[4]

Thompson did early examinations and excavations of several sites in the Maya Puuc region, including Loltun and Labná; at the latter site publishing a monograph on the Maya underground storage containers known as chultunes.[5] He also became the first explorer to find and excavate a small site he called X'Kichmook.[6]

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.[7]

With the help of Alison Armour, Thompson in 1894 purchased the plantation that included the site of Chichen Itza.[8] He rebuilt the hacienda, which had been destroyed in the Caste War of Yucatán. For thirty 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[9] and the excavation of several graves in the Ossario (High Priest’s Temple).[10]

Thompson is most famous for dredging the Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Cenote) from 1904 to 1911, 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 shipped the bulk of the artifacts to the Peabody Museum.[11] In 1926, the Mexican government seized Thompson's plantation, charging he had removed the artifacts illegally.[12] The Mexican Supreme Court in 1944 ruled in Thompson's favor.[13] Thompson, however, had died in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1935, so the Hacienda Chichen reverted to his heirs.[14]

References

[edit]
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Edward Herbert Thompson
  1. ^ Edward H. Thompson, "[1]", Popular Science Monthly, October 1879
  2. ^ Thompson, Edward Herbert (1932). People of the Serpent. Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Sons. p. 18.
  3. ^ Albright, Evan J. (2015). The Man Who Owned a Wonder of the World. Bourne, Massachusetts: Bohlin Carr Inc. pp. 34, 41, 331–338. ISBN 978-1-939607-02-7.
  4. ^ Thompson 1932, p. 39
  5. ^ Thompson 1932, pp. 89–108
  6. ^ Thompson, Edward Herbert (1898). Ruins of XKichmook. Chicago: Field Columbian Museum. p. 213.
  7. ^ Thompson 1932, pp. 140–149
  8. ^ Albright 2015, pp. 115–122
  9. ^ Thompson 1932, pp. 251–8
  10. ^ Albright 2015, pp. 129–32
  11. ^ Albright 2015, pp. 171–224
  12. ^ Albright 2015, pp. 334–5
  13. ^ Albright 2015, p. 406
  14. ^ Albright 2015, pp. 397, 409
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edward Herbert Thompson.
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