What led to the romantic perception of the Mayan civilization?
score:5
The following passage from Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan would lend some credence to the first two explanations of remarkable discoveries of a fallen civilization:
The sight of this unexpected monument put at rest at once and forever, in our minds, all uncertainty in regard to the character of American antiquities, and gave us the assurance that the objects we were in search of were interesting, not only as the remains of an unknown people, but as works of art, proving, like newly discovered historical records, that the people who once occupied the Continent of America were not savages.
Keep in mind that Stephens' books were the among the first western studies of Mayan sites and the first to gain wide circulation. On top of that, Stephens is quite a talented writer and writes in the style of similar works in during the period. Given that (as you point out) most earlier books and references had been systematically destroyed, these books would have been about the only point of reference to draw from. The books themselves read more like travel literature or real-life adventure than an anthropological or archaeological study - he was out to sell books and doesn't hide the fact, for example:
My object has been, not to produce an illustrated work, but to present the drawings in such an inexpensive form as to place them within the reach of the great mass of our reading community.
So likely, the answer is likely a combination of all of the things you mentioned, combined with a very healthy dose of not knowing much of anything about the Maya beyond brief examinations of the ruins. In fact, Stephens wildly underestimates the age of some of the sites:
I am inclined to think that there are not sufficient grounds for the belief in the great antiquity that has been ascribed to these ruins; that they are not the works of people who have passed away, and whose history has become unknown; but opposed as is my idea to all previous speculations, that they were constructed by the races that occupied the country at the time of the invasion by the Spaniards, or of some not very distant progenitors.
As for where Gendrop came up with the notion that the Maya were an "eminently peaceful people", it probably wouldn't have been from Stephens. Much of the impression that Stephens forms of the Maya implies a strong cultural continuity with the Aztec, and he acknowledges the accounts of Cortez as historically accurate, including his references to human sacrifice and territorial conflicts.
Upvote:2
Romanticism combined with the need of the Mexicans to have some sort of moral superiority to claim over their northern neighbours.
Wouldn't do to give the Americans in the Mexican-American war (and the Texas war of indepence from Mexico, and the other conflicts between them) a ready made image of hordes of bloodthirsty savages intent on cutting the hearts out of their conquered foes to use as propaganda.
And the romantics that formed the bulk of 19th century historians were quite eager to help create that image of the "noble savage", even when the evidence stared them in the face in the form of mass graves, altars with carved imagery of people brutally slaughtered, etc. etc.
More post
- 📝 When did Napoleon start to be regarded as a French national hero?
- 📝 Was Brezhnev's rule an "era of stagnation"
- 📝 Did Amadeo Bordiga tell off Stalin this way?
- 📝 Did Bill Gates steal the GUI concept from Steve Jobs?
- 📝 Evolution of United States' world role?
- 📝 Did Truman really believe that Hiroshima was a military base?
- 📝 Were WW1 trenches always in a devastated landscape?
- 📝 What is this household object from early 1900s rural Russia?
- 📝 Inflation rates in Spain and Portugal during the 16th century
- 📝 How did the existence of the Alps impact the development of Switzerland?
- 📝 Have American gangsters ever helped their government in war time out of patriotism?
- 📝 British Diplomat's Guide to the Balkan Races
- 📝 Did the MDC draw support from former ZAPU voters and politicians?
- 📝 Where did one-in-a-million chance of nuking the atmosphere come from?
- 📝 Historical Human Fecundity info?
- 📝 What is the history of the popped collar?
- 📝 How young of a child could do significant labor?
- 📝 How long ago was the yo-yo first used as a weapon?
- 📝 What was an upper and a lower region?
- 📝 After Jesus was executed what became of Pontius Pilate
- 📝 In WWII, what were the major differences in tank combat on the eastern and western fronts?
- 📝 Was Rommel anti-semitic?
- 📝 Was there intermixing between Brits and Hong Kongers during Britain's control of the territory?
- 📝 What percentage of the population was in the clergy (chastity vows) in Europe *at its peak* between 500-1500)?
- 📝 Why were Hoplite shields circular?
- 📝 Whereabouts of the ancient Korean cannon in Kamchatka
- 📝 Why is the Ku Klux Clan an Christian terrorism organisation?
- 📝 What was the meaning behind these lip make-ups in Ancient China?
- 📝 Did 20th century militaries have their own fire-fighter units?
- 📝 What are other obvious samples in history where political/religious leaders try to shape religion to their need
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What led to the romantic perception of the Mayan civilization?
- 📝 What led some people to (correctly) believe that there was no land under the ice cap at the North Pole?
- 📝 What led to the first fight in the American Civil War?
- 📝 What Factors Have Led to the Duration of US Copyrights Continuously Increasing?
- 📝 What events led to the fall of the Zhou Dynasty during the Warring States period?
- 📝 What led to the creation of Belgium?
- 📝 What led Extremadurans to take a leading role in the conquest of Spain's territories in the Americas?
- 📝 What was the perception of the average British person of the Boston Tea Party?
- 📝 What led to American air superiority over the Axis in World War II
- 📝 What particular watershed events led to the War of the Roses?
- 📝 To what extent did Gandhi affect the factors that led to the partition of India?
- 📝 What factors led to the 30% devaluation of pound sterling in 1949?
- 📝 What were factors that led to a decline in bond yields during World War II given that the opposite should have happened?
- 📝 What led to the abandonment of the word "canton" for RSFSR subdivisions?
- 📝 What were the factors that led to stagflation in the United States during the 1970s?
- 📝 What was Pope Innocent III's response to the Children's crusade led by Stephan of Cloyes?
- 📝 What factors led to the rise of political parties in the United States?
- 📝 What factors led to the US government issuing nutrition guidelines in 1916?
- 📝 What differences led to Technicolor becoming the dominant color filming technology in Hollywood?
- 📝 What political events led to the Separate Car Act that was upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson?
- 📝 What events led to the Aztecs and Mayans adopting cocoa beans as a currency?
- 📝 What led the U.S. to standardize option contracts to 100 shares per lot?
- 📝 What are the largest numerical units that the median-wealthy person in Western civilization was aware of through the centuries?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 What is the origin of 3 meals a day?
- 📝 What is the first recorded dog name?
- 📝 What drugs were used in England during the High Middle Ages?
- 📝 What knowledge may have been lost at the Library of Alexandria?
- 📝 What were the reasons for the Renaissance / scientific revolution in Europe?
- 📝 What fueled the street lights in 13th-century Cordoba?
