John Lloyd Stephens ( 28 November 1805 - 13 October 1852 ) was an explorer, writer, and U.S. diplomat. His name, usually linked to that of his partner and friend Frederick Catherwood , is associated with the Mayan civilization, in the same manner as those of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon to that of ancient Egypt. Although they were strictly speaking as amateurs, they led two expeditions to Central America and Mexico laid the foundations of modern Mayan archeology. Stephens told the story of their journeys in books that became bestsellers in their time and revealed the Maya to the general public.

Summary 1 Early years 2 Shipments Mayan Stephens 3 years 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 See also

Early years

Born in 1805 into a wealthy family in New York, John Lloyd Stephens was trained as a lawyer. At twenty-nine years to recover from a throat infection refractory to treatment ^{Maya Expeditions Stephens}

In 1836, Stephens was in London a meeting that was to change the course of its existence. Frederick Catherwood, showcasing its panorama "The ruins of Jerusalem" and the two men became friends: the talented illustrator Catherwood made a strong impression on Stephens and they decided to launch together on journeys of exploration. Their relationship was based on a clearly commercial: contract, Catherwood pledged to abandon all rights to his artwork in exchange for a sum of 1500 dollars . It Catherwood was the first, aroused the curiosity of Stephens for Mayan ruins in him stating the report of Colonel del Rio on the ruins of Palenque. In New York, his publisher, Harper encouraged him in this way: little had been published on a subject likely to interest the public. Stephens procured the few books that existed in the Maya cities: an article by Juan Galindo , the "Picturesque Travel in Yucatan" by Jean Frederic Waldeck and the "Mexican Antiquities" of Lord Kingsborough, which contained the report on Palenque Guillermo Dupaix.

Stephens took an opportunity that presented itself after the death of U.S. Representative to the Federation of Central America , he used his political connections to be sent on a diplomatic mission in the region by President Van Buren. The Central America was in chaos: a civil war between the federal government to the various entities that made up the Federation and Stephens hoped his diplomatic passport would provide it with protection during his journey. On October 3, 1839, Stephens and Catherwood sailed in a British ship bound for Belize where a journey of several months leading to Copan , Quirigua , Tonin , Palenque and finally Uxmal.

Arrived in Copn after a tumultuous journey, the two men were captivated by the splendor of the ruins. Stephens had the intuition that they immediately found themselves in front of the remains of an original civilization.

"We asked the Indians if they knew who were the authors of these constructions. They only answer we retorted: "Quien sabe?" ("God knows!"). This place evoked no known historical episode, none of these emotional memories attached to Rome, Athens and "grand mistress of the world in the plain of Egypt '" .

After difficult negotiations with a reluctant owner , Stephens bought the land on which stood the ruins for 50 dollars. Catherwood, who employed the technique of the camera lucida , buckled to the task of making a plan of the ruins and monuments to reproduce, a task made difficult by dense jungle - each monument was to clear the vegetable matrix enveloped - and the complexity of Mayan motifs. Careful and sober descriptions of monuments that they found, including that of the famous Altar Q , have not lost their relevance. The two men separated for several months. Catherwood while still working at Copan, Stephens tried to contact the Government of the Federation of Central America to present his credentials , all in a climate of insecurity created by the struggle between two factions . Meanwhile, Catherwood had had briefly visited the site of Quirigua. Stephens tried to buy it, as he had done for Copn, but the transaction was aborted. Catherwood joined Stephens in Guatemala, where it drew the conclusions of the political situation after the collapse of the federal government:

"In these circumstances I considered myself more obliged to remain in this country, my mission had become moot. I sent officially to the authorities in Washington a message reads: "After diligent research, have found no government." (...) I was again my own master, free to go wherever I wanted, but at my own expense " .

Nothing holding longer Stephens, the two men went to Guatemala in Palenque, a trip that was not without peril, as evidenced by the episode in which Stephens, transported in a "silla" on a steep road along a ravine, feared for his life. En route they visited the ruins of Utatln, the ancient capital of the Quich , and those of Zaculeu, which was that of Mams. In Mexico, near the village of Ocosingo, they explored the site briefly classic Tonin that Stephens called strangely "Tonila. Arriving at Palenque in May 1840, they moved into the building known as the "Palace". They were preceded shortly by two Britons, Walker and Caddy, sent by the Governor of British Honduras. They undertook a survey as thorough as possible monuments:

"As in Copan, it is my responsibility to prepare the various objects that would copy Mr. Catherwood. Number of stones had to be scraped and cleaned prior to and since our intention was to achieve the highest possible accuracy in the drawings, we had to draw repeatedly scaffolding to install the camera lucida " .

The work was held in deplorable conditions: torrential rain and insect attacks eventually undermine their health:

"The bad mine Mr. Catherwood terrified me. He was pale and gaunt, and literally crippled like me, by dint of having been bitten by insects " .

As Quirigua, they left the site without Stephens has managed to make the acquisition, this time for purely administrative reasons. Palenque they headed towards the coast and reached the Yucatan Peninsula by sea, they began working at Uxmal , but the state of health had so deteriorated that Catherwood, June 24, 1840 they left Mexico.

In 1841, Stephens published two volumes of his most famous book, "Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan. This is a travelogue in the time mode, mixing various anecdotes, portraits, descriptions of places visited, a large section devoted to the political situation and civil war that ravaged Central America, excluding the most original part, archaeological, however, that with only one third of the work . The book, printed in 15,000 copies

, prompting Stephens Catherwood in October 1842 to undertake a second trip to the Yucatan, which led them to Tulum Uxmal, through Sayil , Labn , Kabah or Chichen Itza , a total of more than forty Mayan sites. This trip provided him with material for a new bestseller, "Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, published in 1843.

Final years

Stephens invests in U.S. domestic politics and in 1846 he participated in the Constitutional Convention in Albany. Interested in the idea of a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama , he returned to Central America. The unhealthy climate of the region undermined and had to bring sick in New York, where he died shortly after.

References

Bibliography

• John Lloyd Stephens, Adventure Travel in Maya country, 1. Copan, 1839, Pygmalion, 1991
• John Lloyd Stephens, Adventure Travel in Maya country, 2. Palenque, 1840, Pygmalion, 1993

See also

• Maya civilization
• Maya cities: Chichn Itz , Copn , Izamal , Mayapan , Palenque , Tikal , Tonin , Tulum , Uxmal.
• Frederick Catherwood

• Portal Pre-Columbian America
• Portal Exploration

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