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COLLECTION Identifier: 47-52

Chichen Itza Expedition records

Overview

Records of the Peabody Museum’s Central America work at Chichen Itza, including investigation of the Sacred Cenote.

Dates

  • Creation: 1888-1947

Extent

1 linear feet

The Chichen Itza Expedition records consist of field correspondence, reports, notes and accounts. The collection is divided into two series: I. Correspondence and II. Field reports and notes.

Biographical / Historical

In 1888, under the aegis of the PM's Central America Expedition funded by museum trustee Charles P. Bowditch, Edward H. Thompson began the first of a series of archaeological expeditions to Chichen Itza, in Yucatan State, Mexico. Later, he was joined by archaeologists Alfred M. Tozzer, Sylvanus G. Morley, and T. A. Willard. The expeditions continued under the aegis of Sylvanus G. Morley and the Carnegie Institute of Washington into the 1940s.

One of the richest sites in Mayan archaeological history, the Sacred Cenote, was excavated by the archaeologists of the Chichen Itza expeditions. Analysis of the artifacts excavated there carried on into the 1960s, and the artifacts at the PM still provide important data to researchers.

Physical Location

Peabody Museum Archives

Immediate Source of Acquisition

# 47-52

The records of the early expeditions were donated to the Museum in 1947 by Bowditch, Thompson, and Tozzer and were sorted and arranged by Tozzer, initially for a book to be written by Tania Proskouriakoff. They were transferred to the PM Archives in 1987.

Related Peabody Museum Collections

  1. Carnegie Institute of Washington (CIW) Records #58-34
  2. Chichen Itza correspondence from E.H. Thompson can be found in FW Putnam Director Records

General note

Collections records may contain language, reflecting past collecting practices and methods of analysis, that is no longer acceptable. The Peabody Museum is committed to addressing the problem of offensive and discriminatory language present in its database. Our museum staff are continually updating these records, adding to and improving content. We welcome your feedback and any questions or concerns you may want to share.

Processed by:

Sarah Demb, Archivist; 1997 ; edited by Patricia H. Kervick, Associate Archivist; July 2009

Title
Chichen Itza Expedition Records: A Finding Aid
Author
Peabody Museum Archives
Language of description
und
EAD ID
pea00039

Repository Details

Part of the Peabody Museum Archives Repository

Papers in the Peabody Museum Archives consist of primary source materials that document the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic research and fieldwork since its founding in 1866. More than 2,800 feet of archival paper collections contain documents, papers, manuscripts, correspondence, data, field notes, maps, plans, and other historical records that represent diverse peoples from around the world, and which were created or collected by the Museum, its individual affiliates, or related entities. The collections also document the history or provenience, as well as the creation of, many of the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic collections.

Contact:
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