Resumen

SELLEN, Adam T.. "Nuestro hombre en México": Las hazañas del cónsul estadounidense Louis Henri Aymé en Yucatán y Oaxaca. Península [online]. 2005, vol.1, n.0, pp.151-170. ISSN 1870-5766.

This paper deals with the life of Louis H. Aymé, who was the United States consul in Merida, Yucatán, at the beginning of the era known as the Porfiriato. During his stay in México Consul Aymé carried out illegal archaeological excavations and smuggled pre-Columbian antiquities to museums in the U.S. The evidence for these assertions is contained in documents written in Aymé's own hand, showing that he used bribery and graft to extract large quantities of ancient artefacts from México. Ironically, at the same time he documented some of his explorations with an unusual precision for the day, leaving behind a valuable record for archaeology. Aymé's foray into México created a blueprint for subsequent American Consuls from which to usurp their diplomatic positions in the name of archaeological exploration. In this sense the Consuls actions contributed substantially to fuel the air of suspicion that existed between the Mexican government and foreigners who were involved in archaeological enterprises, resulting in the stiffening of measures that controlled exploration.

Palabras llave : Archaeological History; Yucatán and Oaxaca; Porfiriato; collectionism.

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