Historical Photos of Expeditions to Mesoamerica and South America in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

What they found amid the lush forests was more than just plants and animals; His eyes fell on the ancient ruins hidden under the dense leaves.

These discoveries opened a window to the rich history of the people who once flourished in these lands.

In the 19th century, whispers began to spread about the existence of ancient cities hidden in the jungles of Mesoamerica and South America.

Long before Europe even knew of the existence of the New World, the Maya had already built magnificent cities in these regions.

But as these civilizations declined, the jungle slowly engulfed their once great cities. When the Inca Empire fell in Peru, the iconic Machu Picchu also sank into oblivion.

This was the time when explorers really began to uncover these archaeological wonders, treasures that were believed to be lost forever.

Many natives to these areas knew about these hidden sites spanning the Yucatán Peninsula, Central America, and South America.

The stories of these early discoveries inspired countless others to follow in their footsteps.

Artists' drawings of the jungle ruins were particularly influential, encouraging later adventurers to bring along their cameras and capture these wonders in photographs and preserve them for future generations.

Discovery of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood

In 1839, US President Martin Van Buren appointed John Lloyd Stephens as US Ambassador to Central America.

Soon thereafter, Stephens set out on a journey with English archaeologist Frederick Catherwood to explore ancient Maya ruins in the area.

Stephens was primarily interested in exploring the ancient ruins of Copan and then moving on to Palenque. At this time, many famous Maya sites were unknown even to the native inhabitants of the region.

The centuries had gradually covered the great temples and pyramids and turned them into mounds of green hills.

Only a few Maya cities existed at this time, including Copan, Palenque, Topoxte/Tayasal, and a mysterious unnamed city deep in the jungle (known as Tikal).

There was no accurate map of the area and the two men often explored sites through verbal conversation during conversations.

In his Narratives of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán, Stephens writes about his first impressions of Copán:

Moving away from the base, and making our way through dense forests, we came upon a square stone pillar, about 14 feet high and three feet on each side, carved in very bold relief, and on all four sides , from base to top.

In front was the figure of a strange and richly dressed man, and the face, clearly a portrait, was solemn, stern, and apt to excite terror.

The back had a different design than we'd ever seen before, and the sides were covered with hieroglyphs.

This was called 'Idol' by our guide and in front of it, at a distance of three feet, was a large block of stone, also carved with figures and symbolic devices, which he called the Altar.

The sight of this unexpected monument immediately and forever removed from our minds all uncertainty respecting the character of American antiquities, and gave us assurance that the objects we were looking for were interesting.

Not only as remains of unknown people, but as works of art, which prove, like newly discovered historical records, that the people who once occupied the continent of America were not savages.

Alfred Maudsley's discovery

The British colonial administrator and archaeologist Alfred Percival Maudslay led an important expedition in 1881.

As an explorer, Maudslay entered the jungles of Central America in search of Maya sites. Their initial efforts faced challenges, as they had to contend with dense jungle terrain in their quest to locate ancient ruins.

He began with the Maya ruins of Quirigua and Copán, where, with the help of Frank Serge, he hired laborers to help clean and survey the remaining structures and artifacts.

Serge also introduced Maudsley to the newly found ruins at Tikal and to the trusted guide Gorgonio Lopez. Maudslay was the first to describe the site of Yaxchilan.

Along with Teobert Maler, Alfred Maudsley explored Chichen in the 1880s and the two spent several weeks at the site and took extensive photographs.

Maudsley published the first long-term description of Chichen Itza in his book, Biologia Centrali-Americana.

During his surveys, Maudslay pioneered many later archaeological techniques. He hired the Italian specialist Lorenzo Giuntini and technicians to make plaster casts of the carvings, while Gorgonio López made the papier-mâché casts.

Artist Annie Hunter took cast impressions before they were sent to museums in England and the United States.

Maudslay also took many detailed photographs – dry plate photography was then a new technology – and made copies of the inscriptions.