Graphic and Photographic Documentation - Reed College

Three closely related books with color photograph by Ferguson and Royce have been
published. The two later titles, Maya Ruins in Central America in Color (1984) and
Mesoamerica’s Ancient Cities (1990/2001) are separately listed and annotated in this
web bibliography. In all 3 titles, there are excellent, up-to-date texts, but the unique
contribution of these three publications is the inclusion of aerial photographs, in color,
taken by Ferguson and Royce at relatively low altitudes, showing the layout of entire
ceremonial centers with some of the surrounding area. These are taken at oblique
angles, which, for most purposes, is more informative than direct overhead
photographs, usually taken from higher altitudes. All 3 titles include diagrams
accompanying the overrall aerial photograph of sites, identifying the individual
buildings.
The text material on pages 66-132 on the Puuc Area “was prepared in consultation
with Jeff Kowlalski . . . and was reviewed by Arthur G. Miller. . . .” (p.66). This is the
largest number of photographs of Puuc sites in the 3 titles of Ferguson and Royce
photographs. There are 41 photographs of Uxmal (6 aerial), 6 photographs of Kabah
(2 aerial), 5 of Sayil (1 aerial), and 9 of Labna (2 aerial).
Ferguson, William M., and Arthur H. Rohn, photographs by John Q.
Royce and William M. Ferguson
Mesoamerica’s Ancient Cities: Aerial Views of PreColumbian Ruins in Mexico, Guatemala,
Belize, and Honduras. Niwot, Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 1990 (revised edition
by William M. Ferguson and Richard E. W. Adams, University of New Mexico Press,
Albuquerque, 2001).
Three closely related books with color photograph by Ferguson and Royce have been
published. The two earliest titles Maya Ruins of Mexico in Color (1977) and Maya
Ruins in Central America in Color (1984) are separately listed and annotated in this
web bibliography. In all 3 titles, there are excellent, up-to-date texts, but the unique
contribution of these three publications is the inclusion of aerial photographs, in color,
taken by Ferguson and Royce at relatively low altitudes, showing the layout of entire
ceremonial centers with some of the surrounding area. These are taken at oblique
angles which, for most purposes, are more informative than direct overhead
photographs, usually taken from higher altitudes. All 3 titles include diagrams
accompanying the overall aerial photograph of sites, identifying the individual
buildings.
This title, Mesoamerica’s Ancient Cities, is the latest of the 3. This 2001 edition adds a
short essay by Adams and is very slightly updated. Chapter 8, “Puuc Region, is nearly
identical in the 2 editions. For Uxmal there are 11 photographs (5 aerial), for Kabah 6
(3 aerial), for Sayil 4 (1 aerial), and for Labná 6 (3 aerial). For Uxmal and Kabah, the
most spacious aerial photograph is accompanied by a diagram identifying the main
structures.
Finney, Ben R.
“L’Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg and Désiré Charnay.” Unpublished paper. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard university, 1960.
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