Saturday February 13, 1999 at the University Museum.
Warren Church was unable to speak as planned. On short notice, Elin Danien graceously offered to speak.
Elin Danien, "Leopold Stokowski, Ox Carts, and Stelae: the University
Museum at Piedras
Negras."
Elin spoke about the history of excavation
at the Guatemalan site of Piedras
Negras. The site was first pointed out to Teobert Maler by logger Emilio
Palma, who had named it for the large black rocks found in the Usimacinta
River near the ruins. The Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C.,
was issued a short term permit for excavation at the site, in 1926.
The University Museum's director, George Gordon, advised by Sir Eric
Thompson
and Sylvanus Morley, applied for a permit to excavate at Piedras Negras,
which
was granted in May, 1929. As had been the case with the Carnegie
Institute's appropriation of Lintel 4, the Museum was anticipating the
acquisition of sculptural artifacts to enhance its collection.
Their contract with the Guatemalan government permitted them to keep one
half of the sculptures discovered and deliver one half to Guatemala
City. The monuments would legally be on loan for 10 years, but it was anticipated
that the loan would be indefinitely extended.
During the first season, the work crew hacked
out a 37 mile ungraded road, usable only in the dry season, to bypass the
unnavigable rapids at the Mouth of the Mountains Gorge. Horace Jaynes led
archaeologists such as Lynton Saitherwaithe, Eldridge Johnson and Tatiana
Prouskourikoff in excavation, and epigraphic, historical and site plan
analysis, and was also forced to constantly deal with financial shortfalls
brought on by the Great Depression. In addition to wrestling with unwieldy
monuments in mud and gravel, Jaynes had to deal with transport
out of the Peten. Any artifacts travelling through Mexico were
subject to seizure and the sculptures bound for Guatemala City had to be
routed through New Orleans. Although the project was financially unable
to publish their findings until the 1940's and '50's, they did discover
Lintel
3, Altar 1, Stelae 12 and 14, and a beautifully carved bench and back
screen. In all, eight sculptures were brought to the University Museum;
all but two of these have now been returned to Guatemala City.
And what about Leopold Stokowski? The connection is really very
tenuous. Sylvanus Morley
suggested that Stokowski be invited to spend a month or so at Piedras
Negras, to fill him with the romance of archaeology (Stokowski had visited
Morley at Chichen Itza) and that then his (Stokowski's) connections could
be targeted for financial support. Probably the idea was that the
conductor would introduce the archaeologists to his wealthy friends.
Needless to say, nothing ever came of it. But they were desperate
for money!