Great article, Jeanine! I knew about Merle Greene Robertson, but I learned a lot more about her from you! I always admired the women who shaped Maya archaeology; though I knew most about Linda Schele. The Palenque Mesa Redondas are famous! I loved visiting Palenque - it might be my favorite site, too. Thanks for posting the series :)
Wow, thank you Damon! For your comments and also for the list. I will locate emails for this list and send a link to the beginning of the Women Trailblazers series! What a great list!!!! Thank you so very much!
Oh, nice. I was hesitant to add an external link in the comments.
I genuinely think these are the kinds of stories that could reach well beyond the borders of Maya country. Women (and all people) everywhere could take inspiration from badasses like this.
Imagine living in that era of such discovery and being a woman leading the way. Your essays always inform and fascinate Jeannine, but highlighting women at this particular time feels so important. Thank you.
Thank you for reading, Paulette!. What amazes me is that the 'era' was just a few decades ago and that the Maya had languished in near anonymity for so long, and the few and the brave plugged away, with amazing successes. I'm glad I enjoy researching it so much. And thanks for reminding me that writing about powerful women at this time in history is an important thing to undertake.
This was fascinating, Jeanine! I love reading about adventurous women who have accomplished unusual feats, and Merle is certainly one of them. (I especially like it because she was born in Montana--the state where I grew up.) Where are the rubbings located today? Is the rice paper durable or extremely fragile?
Yes, Montana! It must have been a great place to grow up, Clarice! Robertson—something else. I think her upbringing probably assisted in her tenacity and just do it attitude. I loved that their neighbor was Russell, and she got to see and talk to Blackfoot Indians! Her rubbings are literally everywhere! She was quite generous in doling out a good # of the 5000 (!) she did. There is or was a display at U of FL (Gainesville) of her re-constuction paintings like the one at the end of the post. Her art abilities were multi-faceted. She drew a lot at the end of her life. And some of her rubbings are in San Fran, her hometown in later years, at MoMA. But the vast majority, I can’t remember now. I just know she wasn’t shy about spreading around the wealth. So cool.
Montana was a wonderful place to grow up. In my mind, native Montanans are a special breed. How wonderful that Robertson was able to talk to Blackfoot Indians and Russell, too!
Did you know that Jeannette Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was the first woman to hold federal office in the United States? She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916 for one term, then was elected again in 1940. She was also a lifelong pacifist and the only member of Congress to vote against going to war with Japan after Pearl Harbor.
That's impressive re Rankin. Wow, a lifelong pacifist and voted against going to war after Pearl Harbor. She must have had quite a time in Congress afterwards. I recall how much pushback Maxine Waters got as only member to vote against Iraq War. I love reading Wallace Stegner and Ivan Doig. It must have been a great childhood!
My childhood was really unique because I grew up on a very large horse and cattle ranch at the tail end of the cowboy era. I wrote a post about my first year on the ranch (we moved there when I was 5) that I think gives a little flavor of what it was like. Here is a link if you’d like to read it: https://claricedankers.substack.com/p/my-first-year-in-montana
I just read your Nov 2023 post about your childhood. Amazing! What a great growing up time you had. Really a slice of life to a time now gone, Clarice. Great post!
Thank you for sharing Merle Greene Robertson. You have highlighted her adventurous spirit, pioneering contributions to Maya studies, and enduring legacy in archaeology and art documentation, Jeanine.
Great essay, Jeanine. Archeology is such an interesting field - and quite romantic, which is why we have our Indiana Joneses and Laura Crofts. But reading about real archeologists is always more interesting than that fiction. You have done these women justice with your writing!
Thanks Mike! Yes, it is romantic, archaeology—all the mystical vine covered pyramids in jungles. I love that she got right into it—full bore. Maybe her Montana upbringing spurred her on—that old west mentality.
This is an amazing article, Jeanine, full of information I never knew. Thanks for posting! BTW, I downloaded the Kindle version of the book by Stephens that you recommended. Best regards, amiga.
Thank you, Mikel! Robertson was really a gift to the world of archeology, and art. One exhibition she did is incredible, at U of Gainesville, FL. I really want to see it some day. I think MoMA in San Fran has some of her rubbings and some day I'll check those out too. Was the book Incidents of Travel? I'll also DM you an overview of their travels in a book titled: Jungle of Stone. I did a review of it for the bookstore a few years ago. It's concise and the reviewer did an incredible job. I'm going to eventually post it on Substack, but i submitted it to History Society and they do not want their submissions to have posted before on Substack.
Thanks for the follow-up info, Jeanine. Based on your writings, I would like to explore part of the Yucatan and see some archeology sites. Maybe I'll be strong enough next year.
That would be great, Mikel. And now w/ the Maya train, it would be quite easy. I've posted the map of the train stations (many!) I put it in one of my Notes a while back and will try to include that too in my DM to you later today.
Thanks for restack Denise!
Great article, Jeanine! I knew about Merle Greene Robertson, but I learned a lot more about her from you! I always admired the women who shaped Maya archaeology; though I knew most about Linda Schele. The Palenque Mesa Redondas are famous! I loved visiting Palenque - it might be my favorite site, too. Thanks for posting the series :)
Very welcome, Emese, and thanks for reading. Yes, next up is Barbara Tedlock, another of my faves. Not tomorrow but following week.
Oh, man. I'd marathon this series, because it needs to be told in long form.
Just found a list of 22 women directors of note in Mexico. I would love to know if this story is on radar for them or anyone, frankly.
https://www.thecherrypicks.com/stories/hispanic-latin-female-directors-you-should-know/
Wow, thank you Damon! For your comments and also for the list. I will locate emails for this list and send a link to the beginning of the Women Trailblazers series! What a great list!!!! Thank you so very much!
Oh, nice. I was hesitant to add an external link in the comments.
I genuinely think these are the kinds of stories that could reach well beyond the borders of Maya country. Women (and all people) everywhere could take inspiration from badasses like this.
I'm glad you included the link. And you are right, these stories of women in and of Mexico are so important to bring to light.
Great question. No, but the book mobile was a big deal
Weren't they great?
What an incredible person. Merle is an inspiration. You teach us so much in little time!
Thank you Daniel! Yes, she was really something -- what a long life, well-lived and adventurous! And thank you for the restack!
Imagine living in that era of such discovery and being a woman leading the way. Your essays always inform and fascinate Jeannine, but highlighting women at this particular time feels so important. Thank you.
Thank you for reading, Paulette!. What amazes me is that the 'era' was just a few decades ago and that the Maya had languished in near anonymity for so long, and the few and the brave plugged away, with amazing successes. I'm glad I enjoy researching it so much. And thanks for reminding me that writing about powerful women at this time in history is an important thing to undertake.
An absorbing read, as ever Jeanine.
This time next year we plan to revisit the Yucatan and Palenque is top of the list!
Thanks Marco&Sabrina! Yes, Robertson does make for quite a read! Her book was fascinating. Glad you’ll see Palenque !
This was fascinating, Jeanine! I love reading about adventurous women who have accomplished unusual feats, and Merle is certainly one of them. (I especially like it because she was born in Montana--the state where I grew up.) Where are the rubbings located today? Is the rice paper durable or extremely fragile?
Yes, Montana! It must have been a great place to grow up, Clarice! Robertson—something else. I think her upbringing probably assisted in her tenacity and just do it attitude. I loved that their neighbor was Russell, and she got to see and talk to Blackfoot Indians! Her rubbings are literally everywhere! She was quite generous in doling out a good # of the 5000 (!) she did. There is or was a display at U of FL (Gainesville) of her re-constuction paintings like the one at the end of the post. Her art abilities were multi-faceted. She drew a lot at the end of her life. And some of her rubbings are in San Fran, her hometown in later years, at MoMA. But the vast majority, I can’t remember now. I just know she wasn’t shy about spreading around the wealth. So cool.
Montana was a wonderful place to grow up. In my mind, native Montanans are a special breed. How wonderful that Robertson was able to talk to Blackfoot Indians and Russell, too!
Did you know that Jeannette Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was the first woman to hold federal office in the United States? She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916 for one term, then was elected again in 1940. She was also a lifelong pacifist and the only member of Congress to vote against going to war with Japan after Pearl Harbor.
That's impressive re Rankin. Wow, a lifelong pacifist and voted against going to war after Pearl Harbor. She must have had quite a time in Congress afterwards. I recall how much pushback Maxine Waters got as only member to vote against Iraq War. I love reading Wallace Stegner and Ivan Doig. It must have been a great childhood!
My childhood was really unique because I grew up on a very large horse and cattle ranch at the tail end of the cowboy era. I wrote a post about my first year on the ranch (we moved there when I was 5) that I think gives a little flavor of what it was like. Here is a link if you’d like to read it: https://claricedankers.substack.com/p/my-first-year-in-montana
I just read your Nov 2023 post about your childhood. Amazing! What a great growing up time you had. Really a slice of life to a time now gone, Clarice. Great post!
Thank you for sharing Merle Greene Robertson. You have highlighted her adventurous spirit, pioneering contributions to Maya studies, and enduring legacy in archaeology and art documentation, Jeanine.
Thanks Tinashe! She was quite easy to write about, especially since her autobiography was so well documented and w/ a lot of photos. What a life!
Thanks for restack Jodi!
What an incredible woman. You captured her essence so beautifully. Thank you for enlightening me.
Thanks for reading, Micheline! Yes, she was something!
Great essay, Jeanine. Archeology is such an interesting field - and quite romantic, which is why we have our Indiana Joneses and Laura Crofts. But reading about real archeologists is always more interesting than that fiction. You have done these women justice with your writing!
Thanks Mike! Yes, it is romantic, archaeology—all the mystical vine covered pyramids in jungles. I love that she got right into it—full bore. Maybe her Montana upbringing spurred her on—that old west mentality.
This is an amazing article, Jeanine, full of information I never knew. Thanks for posting! BTW, I downloaded the Kindle version of the book by Stephens that you recommended. Best regards, amiga.
Thank you, Mikel! Robertson was really a gift to the world of archeology, and art. One exhibition she did is incredible, at U of Gainesville, FL. I really want to see it some day. I think MoMA in San Fran has some of her rubbings and some day I'll check those out too. Was the book Incidents of Travel? I'll also DM you an overview of their travels in a book titled: Jungle of Stone. I did a review of it for the bookstore a few years ago. It's concise and the reviewer did an incredible job. I'm going to eventually post it on Substack, but i submitted it to History Society and they do not want their submissions to have posted before on Substack.
Thanks for the follow-up info, Jeanine. Based on your writings, I would like to explore part of the Yucatan and see some archeology sites. Maybe I'll be strong enough next year.
That would be great, Mikel. And now w/ the Maya train, it would be quite easy. I've posted the map of the train stations (many!) I put it in one of my Notes a while back and will try to include that too in my DM to you later today.
Great, Jeanine. Thanks.
Wonderful writing of a fascinating story!
Thank you so much, David! So much history in this country! On both coasts ):
Fabulous! Excellent and fascinating article. Thank you!
Very welcome, Ian! And thank YOU for reading and so glad you enjoyed it. What a trooper Robertson was.
Thanks for restack Sandra!