John Eric Sidney Thompson was born on New Years Eve 1898 in London, England to Mary Thompson and George W. Thompson. John Thompson is considered to be one of the true pioneers to ever make major contributions to Maya studies in the field of epigraphy, ethnohistory and field archaeology. Due to the significance of his contribution, Her Majesty the Queen of England honored him with the degree of Knighthood at his 76th birthday, making him the first New World archaeologist to ever receive such distinction.
Because both of Thompson's parents were highly educated and well esteemed in their fields, John was introduced to the thrill of knowledge from a very early age. He was sent to school at Winchester College in 1912. When World War I broke out he joined the army under the assumed name of Neil Winslow, giving false information about his age. In 1918, his army career as 2nd Lt. in the Coldstream Guards ended due to an injury. By 1925-26, he enrolled in Cambridge University as a member of the then non-collegiate Fitzwilliam House (now Fitzwilliam College) to read for the certificate in anthropology under A. C. Haddon. Later in 1926, he made his first visit to Yucatan and began his first field work experience at Chichen Itza under Morley on the task of reconstructing the external friezes of the Temple of the Warriors.
Later, John was in charge of Central and South American Archaeology and Ethnology, at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. In 1926-35, he pursued his career as Honorary Professor at the Museo Nacional de Mexico. There he met his future wife Florence L. Keens whom he married in 1930. By early 1930 his fascination with Maya history matured so much that he spent half a century of his working life focusing on Mayan history.
In 1941, he took the responsibility of Honorary Curator, and was in charge of Middle American archaeology at the Field Museum in Chicago. In 1945 he was nominated as the President of 32nd International Congress of Americanists and was awarded the Viking Fund Medal (1955) for Anthropology.
In 1958, he officially retired and returned to England, where he settled with his wife at their house named “Harvard.” After his retirement he was honored by several institutions including: The University of Yucatan who conferred on him an LL.D. (Doctor of Law) in 1959, The University of Pennsylvania conferred an L.H.D. (Doctor of Literature) in 1962, Spain conferred on him the Order of Isabel La Catolica in 1964, Mexico conferred on him the Order of the Aztec Eagle in 1965, Mexico again honored him with the Sahagun Prize in 1971, Tulane University conferred on him another LL.D. in 1972, The University of Cambridge Litt.D. (Doctors of literature and letter) in 1972, and His old College at Cambridge, Fitzwilliam, made him an Honorary Fellow in 1973.
John Thompson's publications on Maya hieroglyphics and civilization include: Ethnology of the Mayas of Southern and Central, British Honduras (1930), Archaeological Investigations in the Southern Cayo Districts, British Honduras (1933), Mexico Before Cortez (1933), Excavations at San Jose, British Honduras (1939), Maya Hieroglyphic Writing; Introduction (1950), The rise and Fall of Maya Civilization (1954), Thomas Gage’s Travels in the New World (1958), Maya Hieroglyphic Writing (1960), A Catalog of Mayas Hieroglyphic (1962), Maya Archaeologist (1963), and Maya History and Religion (1970).
With these works, the public soon recognized his immense contributions to the field of Maya archaeology, epigraphy, and ethno history. In 1975, Her Majesty the Queen conferred on Eric Thompson a Knighthood of the Order of the British Empire after his 76th birthday. Only after a few weeks from his last visit to land of Maya, he fell ill the same summer after his return from Peru and died on September 9, 1975 in Cambridge, England.
References:
St. Martin’s, “Who’s Who”. 126th Annual Edition, 1974 – 1975
Norman, Hammond, “Social Process in Maya Prehistory,” 1976
Written by Pradeep Rai
Edited by Marcy L. Voelker, 2007