OBJECT OF THE MONTH - January, 2005
Glass Lantern Slide of Chichén Itzá archaeological site, Mexico, mid-1920s
Hand-colored glass lantern slide made by Earl Morris in the mid-1920s. Depicts the reclining figure of Chac Mool in front of the Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá in Mexico.
The Carnegie Institution hired archaeologist Earl Morris to direct the excavations at Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico. Earl and his wife, Ann, began work in the spring of 1924, focusing on the excavation and restoration of the Temple of the Warriors complex. The complex is a massive temple-topped pyramid with an adjoining palace.
The Morrises worked for five field seasons to reconstruct the Temple of the Warriors. This hand-colored glass slide was made by Earl and depicts the reclining figure of Chac Mool, which continues to reside atop the Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá.
Earl Morris worked throughout the Southwest US, Mexico, and Guatemala and was the founder of the anthropology collections at the University of Colorado Museum. (Slide scan and information courtesy of Marc Levine for "The Earl of Mesoamerican Archaeology" in the University of Colorado Alumni magazine Coloradan, August 2000.)