TRACING
THE RUINS
The Adventures of
Stephens & Catherwood
As the sun settles high above the treetops, John Lloyd Stephens wipes the sweat from his brow and checks the time. Eleven o’clock. Plenty of daylight left. John’s travel companions, Frederick Catherwood and several native people, are nearby making their way through the tropical terrain. Peering through the trees, Stephens tries to see the ruins ahead, but can’t seem to make out anything besides the layers upon layers of jungle. Finally, a shout from up ahead. Stephens and Catherwood take a few more steps before encountering a giant stone temple. The temple, so perfectly hidden among the trees, appears to be battling the jungle and its ever-growing shrubbery. Catherwood quickly finds the perfect position and begins sketching while Stephens takes in the scene. There they stand, in the center of an ancient Maya city—crumbling, yet echoing the sound of its ancient builders.
Two Men on a Mission
John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood were destined to be explorers. Stephens was an American lawyer and practiced law in New York until a severe throat infection halted his career. Instead of taking it slow, Stephens used his time away from the law to travel extensively through Europe, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Palestine, and present-day Turkey. Stephens recorded all of his travels and published two successful travel books, gaining his nickname, “the American traveler.”
On the other side of the world, Catherwood was making a name for himself in London. As an established architect, artist, and traveler, Catherwood had also gained a reputation as a traveler and was the first westerner to survey and draw the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Copán is
located in Honduras
near the border of Guatemala.
One fateful day, sometime around 1836, Stephens and Catherwood met. The two men discussed their love of travel, documentation, and the early descriptions of Mesoamerica by past explorers. Perhaps it was then and there that the two men realized they would make the perfect team. With Stephens being a famous traveler and author and Catherwood being a world-renowned artist, the two men made a pact to travel together in the future.
Exploring Mesoamerica
It came as no surprise that when President Van Buren asked Stephens to be the US ambassador to Central America, Stephens leaped at the opportunity. Stephens knew that an adventure in South America would provide him with plenty of material for a new book, and being a lawyer, he was quick to negotiate a contract with Catherwood. He would join Stephens in South America, and Stephens would be responsible for all of Catherwood’s expenses.
Catherwood also agreed to be paid a lump sum of $1,500, and he signed over to Stephens the rights to his drawings from the trip. Both men agreed to the terms, and before long, they both set sail for Belize on the Mary Ann.
Although Stephens was in South America for political reasons, he and Catherwood were eager to explore. They had heard rumors of ancient pyramids and giant stone carvings hidden within the jungle and felt compelled to adventure into the thick of it. But first, Stephens had to perform his duties as ambassador, which was a rather complicated task.
Little is known about the relationship between Stephens and Catherwood. They traveled together for years: however, there is no written record of their friendship, and Stephens never referred to Catherwood by his first name.
At the time, Central America was at war with itself. Stephens was asked to go in and help settle things down, which he attempted to do. At one point, Stephens and Catherwood were arrested because they were thought to be spies! In the end, Stephens’ political challenges came to an end, which meant he and Catherwood could get to exploring Mesoamerica—and that’s exactly what they did.
Ancient Ruins
On November 15, 1839, Stephens and Catherwood arrived in the village of Copán, Honduras. After a night’s stay, the men, along with their guide, set off through the jungle in search of ruins. After riding through a valley and trekking through a dense forest, only the Copán River stood between them and the hidden ruins.
As their machete cleared branches from their path, a stone wall began to take form before their eyes. With each swing, the wall became clearer, larger, and more immense. In front of them stood a giant stone wall; its height—nearly 100 feet (30.5 meters)!
The stones were cut, polished, and carefully set in place next to each other,
showing a mastery of craftsmanship that neither men had seen before.
After crossing the river and seeing the ancient wall up close, they found a well-preserved stone staircase that echoed of a forgotten time. Amazed, the men climbed the staircase
only to be struck with an entirely new sense of awe and wonder. Before them stood a giant 14-foot (3.9-meter) sculpture of a man. He was elaborately dressed and held a solemn but stern expression. In his book, Stephens described seeing the idol for the first time and being astonished at the complexity of the
statue that stood before him.
Stephens and Catherwood's findings at Copán were significant for several reasons. These two men were among the first Europeans to see the ruins, and most importantly, were the first to document their findings of Maya antiquities. Catherwood made drawings of the idols, ruins, and altars that were so detailed that the images could almost be mistaken for a photograph.
Stephens and Catherwood's findings at Copán were significant for several reasons. These two men were among the first Europeans to see the ruins, and most importantly, were the first to document their findings of Maya antiquities. Catherwood made drawings of the idols, ruins, and altars that were so detailed that the images could almost be mistaken for a photograph.
The Ruins at Uxmal
The Ruins at Uxmal
Anxious to continue their expedition of these Maya sites, Stephens and Catherwood moved on to Mexico. At the time, the country was in a state of revolution, which made the journey north difficult for the two explorers. When they finally arrived in Uxmal, they received further details from the landowners about Maya ruins only a mile from the owner’s hacienda. Determined to find them before returning to New York, the two men set out to find the ruins only to Catherwood to fall ill during the journey. He had to turn back and return to the hacienda while Stephens went on. When Stephens later returned, he shared his findings with an exhausted Catherwood, who thought Stephens’ claims sounded romanticized.
The next day, still feeling ill, Catherwood accompanied Stephens to the ruins at Uxmal only to discover that his friend’s description of them
was not only accurate but an understatement. Struck with excitement, Catherwood forgot his ailments and went to sketching. With his adrenaline pumping and his hand aching, Catherwood made a series of drawings that captured the mastery and creativity of the Maya while also forcing him to master the Maya’s unique style. That day, Catherwood made several important sketches of Uxmal; however, none of them were complete. That night, Catherwood caught a violent fever and was presumed to have contracted malaria. Stephens thought it would be best to return Catherwood to New York immediately. Without delay, they both left Mexico and returned to New York with sketches, filled notebooks, and artifacts highlighting the Maya’s accomplishments.
A Rediscovery
Upon their arrival in New York, Stephens and Catherwood immediately went to work putting together their book. Less than a year after their return, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatán was rolling off the bookshelves faster than the printers could manage. The book was an immediate success and transported John Lloyd Stephens into a bestselling author almost overnight. Even author Edgar Allan Poe described it as “perhaps the most interesting book of travel ever published."
At five dollars a book with roughly 900 pages of text, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatán was a spectacular glimpse into the world of the ancient Maya. Stephens had taken incredibly detailed notes throughout his travels, and with accompanying images by Catherwood, the book led the readers into the past and gave them a glimpse of the excitement felt by Stephens along his journey. Suddenly, the ancient Maya were brought back into the public eye as skillful engineers, extraordinary craftsmen, and intelligent thinkers. At the time, people believed that the ruins in Central America were left by the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, or other ancient civilizations. At the end of his book, Stephens strongly argued that the ruins were in fact made by an ancient civilization native to Central America and that this people group were as advanced and sophisticated as anything he’d observed in Greece, Italy, or Egypt.
Some credit Stephens as being one of America's first bestselling authors.
Stephens and Catherwood would return to Central America again and would make even more discoveries about the ancient Maya world. And while these two great adventurers did not discover the Maya, they were the first to show the world the beauty and wonder of ancient Mesoamerica.