Merle Greene Robertson Collection

1920s – 2010. Papers of Merle Greene Robertson who was an artist, teacher, writer, and archaeologist. Included are personal papers and correspondence, professional publications, field diaries and research notes, grant proposals and final reports, research of special topics, materials relating to exhibits, conference participation, organization of the Palenque Roundtable conference, and her directorship of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute. The bulk of the collection contains most of her original rubbings of Maya monuments and visual materials documenting her 40-year long career. Visual materials include photographs, slides, and negatives, original paintings, and line drawings.

This collection encompasses diverse materials produced and/or collected by Merle Greene Robertson over the course of a more than 40-year career of studying the ancient Maya. The materials stem from her work as an archaeologist, art historian, teacher, writer, and artist. Included are personal papers and correspondence, professional publications, field diaries and research notes, grant proposals and final reports, research of special topics, materials relating to exhibits, conference participation, organization of the Palenque Round Table conferences, and her directorship of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute. Most of this type of material is organized in Section I of this guide.

Of central importance in the collection are most of Merle's original rubbings of Maya monuments, which are stored in numbered rolls and organized alphabetically by archaeological site. The inventory for these rubbings are listed in a chart by site name and Roll # found here: Rubbings Chart. A comprehensive guide to the collection can be found here: Collection guide.

A skilled photographer, Merle Greene Robertson also documented extensively the archaeological sites she visited and studied. The photographic materials include prints of various sizes, including enlarged oversize images, contact prints, 35mm slides, and numerous negatives. The photos range in scope from panoramic aerial shots of Palenque to general views of archaeological sites and specific buildings to detailed photos of glyphs, Maya sculpture and other artistic elements. Merle’s photographs of friends, colleagues, social gatherings of Mayanists, the Mesas Redondas, and other related themes provide a visual record of many important scholars and events in the world of Maya studies from the 1960s to the 2010s. Also notable, Merle created several series of thematic bound volumes (see Section II in the Collection Guide), which incorporate photographs, research notes and commentary, sketches, and other relevant material.

The collection also contains dozens of Merle Greene Robertson’s beautifully-executed line drawings of Maya sculptural and glyphic texts (see section III in the Collection Guide). Other sections include a photographic record of figurines from Palenque, audio-visual material, archaeological and tourist maps, and several important examples of Merle’s original watercolor artwork.

The orthography used in this collection guide and associated inventory materials preserves the site names and spellings used by Merle Greene Robertson to label her works and images.