Sylvanus Morley
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Sylvanus Griswold Morley was an American archaeologist and epigrapher who studied the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in the early 20th century. Morley led extensive excavations of the Maya site of Chichen Itza on behalf of the Carnegie Institution and published several large compilations and treatises on Maya hieroglyphic writing. He also wrote popular accounts on the Maya for a general audience.
Morley at the Maya site of Copán, in Honduras (ca. 1912)
A Chac Mool statue, first identified by le Plongeon but later extensively documented by Morley's Chichen Itza excavations. This type of statue (whose purpose remains unclear, presumed to relate to ritual sacrifice) is also characteristic of Toltec sites, and thus provided a linkage between Chichen Itza and Central Mexico.
Morley with Addie Worth Bagley Daniels and Josephus Daniels at Chichen Itza.
The "Temple of the Warriors", excavated by Morley's team. The rows of the "Thousand Columns" can be seen in its foreground, and extending off to the right.
Chichen Itza
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Chichén Itzá was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán State, Mexico.
Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo) is the most famous of the buildings in the archeological site
Elaborate stone facades in Chichen Itza's "Monjas" complex in 1902
Aerial view of a small portion of Chichen Itza
Columns in the Temple of a Thousand Warriors