Augustus Le Plongeon

Augustus Le Plongeon (1825-1908) was an archaeologist who was the first to excavate the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Yucatán, Central America. He wrote a lengthy history of Mayan culture, going so far as to propose a theory that Mayans had founded Ancient Egypt, a theory which has since been discredited by the scientific community.

Further research and development of theories

While in London he met and married Alice Dixon, the woman with whom he would collaborate for the rest of his life. Alice, born in London in 1851, had been well educated, and also taught the art of photography by her father Henry Dixon - a man who was recognized in the late nineteenth century for his contribution to the development of panchromatic photography, and for his photos of London architecture taken for the Society for Preserving the Relics of Old London.

Related Topics:
London - Alice Dixon - 1851 - Nineteenth century - Panchromatic - Architecture

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Augustus Le Plongeon also had the opportunity to learn the technology of creating photographic negatives directly from the father of modern photography, William Fox Talbot in 1873.

Related Topics:
William Fox Talbot - 1873

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After he had made what he considered to be a complete comparative study of Maya and Egyptian religion, linguistics, and architecture, he concluded that Mayan culture had been diffused throughout Southeast Asia by Mayan travelers who then went on to the Middle East to found Egyptian civilization. While most archaeologists of the early and mid-nineteenth century placed Mayan civilization later than Egypt, the chronologies were still relatively uncertain and Le Plongeon's theory found some believers.

Related Topics:
Religion - Linguistics - Southeast Asia - Middle East

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