WORKSHOP 1 RESEARCH

John Lloyd Stephens

John Lloyd Stephens lived from 1805-1852 and was an American explorer, writer, archaeologist, and diplomat. In his early career he practiced law until diagnosed with a respiratory ailment and at the advice of his doctor traveled abroad, where he would eventually meet Frederick Catherwood, an illustrator that would accompany him on his travels.

Catherwood and Stephens traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East, often seeking archaeological sites of ancient cultures. Resulting from his travels two publications of his accounts and observations were published, Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petra and the holy land. And Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia and Poland. Both helped establish his reputation as a world traveler and writer. This budding reputation eventually earned him an appointment to ambassador to Central America from the United States. Accompanied, again, by Catherwood, he departed for central America. Although fulfilling his government duties he was primarily interested in exploring the jungles of the Yucatan. Many sites were still lost even amongst the indigenous people.

In his publication, Incidents of Travel in Central America, John vividly records the accounts of the built environment often in complex metaphors and a romantic manner. He was the first to precisely record the locations and characteristics of the Mayan civilization. He asserted that the elevated art and architectural elements confirmed their prestige as an ancient society and culture.

“Architecture, sculpture, and painting, all the arts which embellish life, had flourished in this overgrown forest: orators, warriors, and statesmen, beauty, ambition, and glory, had lived and passed away, none knew that such things had been”

His writings often challenged intellectual theories as to the cultural origins.

He confidently concluded that the Maya writing, glyphs, and architecture was original to the indigenous people of the region debunking theories of Hebrew, or Egyptian origin. “Monuments of the same character and appearance, some with more elegant designs, and some in workmanship equal to the finest monuments of Egypt.”

As a result of Stephens’ works, a revitalized interest and international attention was generated surrounding the exploration and study of the Maya culture. The attention to detail and vivid description of his travels paved the way for future archaeological studies in the region and is often hailed by contemporary authors as a foundational work upon which all subsequent regional explorations owe credit.

Maya Masonry

The Yucatan peninsula is, generally, geologically comprised of limestone and dolomitic limestones. And although other regions are composed of volcanic stones, siltstones, sandstones, and marble. Often, masonry structures utilized whatever was most readily available.

It is speculated that the Mayans used many different hand tools, however due the decomposition of woods and fibrous materials there is little proof of such tools existence. Archaeologists turn to the stones them selves to ascertain how they were crafted. Due to the engravings and reference to body proportion measurements, we are led to believe they used hands, feet, arms and stride length to measure and build.

Using fire hardened wood stakes, the stone was scored in a grid pattern defining the rough dimensions of the blocks. The stone was then leveraged free with large poles. The rough-cut stones were then finely shaped and sculpted using wooden and stone chisels and axes.

The significance of the larger structure is unmistakable, often the largest and most elaborately ornamented structure in the city. The religious monuments were crafted in a series of cells, a masonry perimeter that was filled using rubble and fine aggregate.

On a smaller scale the presumed palaces utilized a similar construction but were typically only one story tall. In contrast to the temples, the palaces comprised dozens of rooms and accompanying courtyard spaces. However, it is often observed that the interior spaces were cramped and sparsely furnished leading archaeologists to question the exact nature of these larger compounds.

Focusing in on the wall construction, the Mayans developed and innovated the basic masonry wall construction extensively. The early walls were simple cobble stone walls that were backfilled with dirt and rubble. These walls often had a significant yet very consistent back slope much like a retaining wall to resist lateral loads. In the later periods unitized stones crafted to fit tightly together allowed for more elaborate ornamentation and even veneered faces.

Interior walls are of a noticeably inferior quality and were typically plaster covered due to the smaller stones used and the poor-quality stone. The load bearing front and rear walls were crafted with precision and care leading archaeologists to believe there were divisions of skilled labor. The use of plaster and stucco also suggests they had the technology to create rudimentary concretes and mortar through the means of lime kilns.

Another striking architectural masonry element was the roof crest, or roof comb. The tall, detailed crests project atop the roof structure and serve to achieve greater height and demonstrate power of the ruling class. They are also theorized to denote ritual sites, as they often exhibit religious iconography and symbolize a connection with the sky. Early roof crests have not survived, as they were often supported by perishable roof structures. A gradual shift from massive crests to a lattice like crests highlights the skill and technology they possessed.

The vaulted structure was widely used in viewed by archaeologist as a great accomplishment and technological wonder. The vault system used is a very simple and logical. The system of cantilevering units that are eventually spanned by a cap stone result in a very elongated and triangular archway. Because the two sides are cantilevers, they are structurally independent.

Diptychs

The process of researching two seeming unrelated topics lead to an interesting thought philosophy that would eventually drive the design philosophy for the villa and master plan discussed in workshop 3. The Maya civilization, documented in great detail and precision, by john Lloyd Stephens and catalyzing a generation of study and interest, shed light on the incredible achievements and developments of the aboriginal peoples. Their masonry technology saw the rise of many massive structures through several innovations that are still used today.

Conformi_

The diptych idea was then further developed in a collage style inspired by Conformi_, an artist whose work takes two visuals and collages them together. The collages often use geometry to draw relationships and create a narrative withing the images. The images shown to the left create a narrative of the permanence of the Maya civilization by aligning the contemporary with the archaeological renderings of Frederick Catherwood and John Lloyd Stephens.