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Plate
9, Ornament over the Principal Doorway,
Casa del Gobernador, Uxmal
(on stone, by W. Parrott) |
Masks
of rain god, snakes, and intricate geometric shapes loom over
the entrance to this Maya building, today called the House of
the Governor. The city of Uxmal, and the Puuc people who lived
there flourished between 800-1000 CE, but abandoned the city after
the Spanish invasion. Their descendants, who led Stephens and
Catherwood on their explorations, told of a legend that ‘immense
treasure is hidden’ within the ruins. The doorway seems
to be a gaping mouth, luring the casual observer inside to explore
its depths. When Stephens did so, he discovered a wooden lintel
covered with Maya writing. Hoping to save it from “the wanton
machete of an Indian,” he had part of the lintel shipped
to America. This is only one example of how Stephens and Catherwood
claimed Maya artifacts for their studies and removed them from
their original context. There is another group of people who remove
Maya artifacts from sites, but they do not bother to write accounts
of where they found their pieces—and we call them looters.
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Looting
has become a serious problem within the realm of archeology and
the study of pre-Columbian cultures. Looters destroy archeological
context that could help with decoding glyphs and further scholars’
understanding of the Maya. It is estimated that for every archeologist
there may be as many as two hundred looters. Collectors who purchase
for profit can also inflate the market. The black market in Maya
artifacts is now worth thousands of dollars a year and growing;
it is steadily obliterating precious information about Maya civilization.
Since the 1970s UNESCO laws that address cultural patrimony have
been adopted by some countries. Yet even with these laws looters
are able to excavate sites and sell to collectors or dealers.
Archeologists today want stricter law enforcement from all countries;
museums also prefer that collectors purchase only items with documentation
of provenance. This issue will continue to haunt scholars and
collectors for years to come, and we can look back at some of
the first stirrings of the debate through Catherwood’s prints.
[Spanish version].
MELANIE BOVE and ALYSSA RANKER |
