Burkitt, Robert James, 1869-1945

The Robert Burkitt Papers were collected by Elin Danien on a trip to Guatemala in 1985. Danien, the Coordinator of Public Programs at the Penn Museum, was also a student in the Ph.D.program in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania at the time of her trip. She hoped to determine if the writings and notebooks of Robert Burkitt, reportedly destroyed at his death, were indeed lost to history.

Robert Burkitt. a Harvard graduate and friend of George Byron Gordon, accompanied Gordon as his assistant on the Fourth Copan Expedition to Guatemala in 1894. Burkitt remained in Guatemala for the rest of his life while Gordon returned to the United States and in 1910 became the Director of the Free Museum of Science and Art (later the Penn Museum). Burkitt developed a unique style in studying the native Indian languages and received some recognition before accepting an informal agreement with his old friend, Gordon, to locate and ship artifacts from Guatemala to the Free Museum of Science and Art.

By contacting the relatives of Kensitt Champsey, with whom Burkitt resided during his time in Guatemala, Danien discovered that there were some trunks of Burkitt's work that still remained on the Champsey family property. Danien also tracked down a man who had worked on the Burkitt digs in Guatemala and the widow of Burkitt's college roommate, living in Massachusetts, among others who recalled Robert Burkitt.

Elin C. Danien was born in 1929 in New York. She worked briefly as an actress in New York and in Mexican films and at a major advertising agency before marrying and moving to Philadelphia. Danien came to the Penn Museum as a volunteer and then moved into the Education Department as a part-time guide-liaison. She entered college at age 46, attending part-time in the College of General Studies. While she pursued her degree, Danien was named Coordinator of Public Programs and then Coordinator of Events for the Museum. She attained her B.A. in Anthropology in 1982.

Danien continued her education at the University os Pennsylvania completing her dissertation on Chama Polychromes and her Ph.D. in 1998.

Danien established the Bread Upon the Waters Scholarship Fund at Penn for women over age 30 who wanted to attain a degree by part-time study in the College of General Studies. Her initial endowment has grown along with the number of students who have benefited from her generosity and vision. At the Penn Museum, she created the annual Maya Weekend where upward of 500 professional and amateur anthropologists attend lectures and workshops on Maya archaeology and epigraphy.

Her publications include "Excavating Among the Collections: A Re-examination of Three Maya Figurines" in New Theories of the Ancient Maya, which she co-edited with Robert J. Sharer. Danien also edited, with John M. Weeks, The Lost Notebooks of Robert Burkitt Maya Linguist; A Record of Languages of Ancient Guatemala.

Elin Danien is the recipient of the General William Tecumseh Sherman Prize for Civic Improvement given by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

From the guide to the Elin Danien collection of Robert Burkitt papers, 1903-1913, (University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives)

Robert James Burkitt, born on January 18, 1869 in Athenry, County Galway, Ireland, was the son of Reverend Thomas Henry Burkitt and Emma Eliza Parsons. At age 14, due to economic conditions, he was sent to live with an aunt in Nova Scotia where he attended Dalhousie College. Burkitt took honors in mathematics there and enrolled at Harvard University to study mining. While he was known as a recluse among the Harvard students, Burkitt developed a friendship with George Byron Gordon based on their shared interests in engineering and their talents in drafting and art. Burkitt received his A.B. from Harvard in 1891.

Burkitt first traveled to Guatemala in 1894 as George Gordon's assistant on the Fourth Copan Expedition. In the five months of the expedition, Gordon instructed Burkitt in the basics of excavation. Gordon returned to Cambridge when the excavation was completed, but it is believed that Burkitt never returned to North America, becoming enamored of the culture and language of the Maya. In his early years in Guatemala, Burkitt visited the Kekchi-speaking Maya who lived in the Alta Verapaz. He wandered the countryside, visiting the Indian villages, learning the different languages and customs of the native people, and following native guides to sacred ruins. Burkitt never established a permanent residence in Guatemala, living with one group of friends or another. He rented an apartment in Guatemala City when business took him there, under his pseudonym, Mr. Brown.

Burkitt maintained a sporadic correspondence with his friend George Gordon who by 1910 was Director of the Free Museum of Science and Art (later renamed The University Museum). Burkitt had attained some recognition for articles on linguistics, "Notes on the Kekchi Language" having been published in American Anthropologist. Burkitt and Gordon entered into an agreement whereby Burkitt would devote a portion of each year to exploring and acquiring artifacts for the Museum for a monthly fee plus expenses. This agreement stood for many years despite attempts to get Burkitt to sign contracts and make changes to his highly eccentric style of work. Burkitt could be critical and prickly in his correspondence especially opinionated about the work of others on the Indian language and changes to his material when published.

Burkitt's letters and his Catalogue never fail to contain information on the folklore, ritual, crafts, and language of the Maya. The collection contains regular correspondence with George Gordon until Gordon's death in 1927. Burkitt then kept the Museum apprised of his exploits through letters to Miss McHugh, the Treasurer. When Horace H.F. Jayne took over as Director, Burkitt communicated with him. In addition to letters and records relating to shipments to the Museum, Burkitt kept extensive catalogue entries for each item accompanied by references to geography and the excavation process connected to their discovery. Photographs depict the sites, stages of excavation, and objects discovered. Many of the pictures are mounted by Burkitt. His own discoveries are accompanied by photographs of items purchased from collectors.

Burkitt discovered The Ratinlixul Vase, recovered in 1923. His works, published in the Museum Journal, included "A Journey in Northern Guatemala" in 1924 and "Excavations at Chocola and Explorations in the Highlands of Western Guatemala" in 1930.

Burkitt's interest in linguistics was ever present. He worked for many years on a grammar and dictionary of the Kekchi language; "investigating grammar in my own way". This work was not completed when he suffered a fatal stroke in 1945. Burkitt's papers were thought to be lost until Elin Danien, then Coordinator of Museum Events, visited Guatemala in 1985. Danien contacted relatives of Kensett Champney, a friend with whom Burkitt lived, and discovered that some early notebooks were indeed still in the family's possession.

Burkitt is buried in the British Cemetery in Guatemala City.

From the guide to the Robert Burkitt excavation records, Bulk, 1913-1930, 1903-1939, (University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives)

Robert James Burkitt (b. January 18, 1869; d. February 17, 1945) graduated from Harvard in 1891, where he had formed a strong friendship with George Byron Gordon, the latter, director of the Penn Museum. After graduation Gordon went to Central America while Burkitt remained in Boston. In 1895, Burkitt joined his friend Gordon in Honduras to help with the Peabody Museum Copan Excavations. Having no formal training in archaeology, Burkitt dug trenches, unearthed artifacts, learned the nuances of photography, and learned how to properly take mold impressions. At the end of June of 1895, Gordon returned to Cambridge, while Burkitt, who was captivated by the country and culture, decided to remain in Central America. Having a strong talent for languages and a keen interest in the native groups of Guatemala, Burkitt prided himself in learning the Kekchi language better than any other foreigner. For the rest of his life Burkitt worked on creating a grammar and dictionary of the language.

Sources: Danien, Elin. " Send Me Mr. Burkitt...Some Whisky and Wine: Early Archaeology in Central America" in Expedition: The University Museum Magazine of Archaeology/Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania. vol. 27, no. 3. 1985.

From the guide to the Burkitt, Robert James, 1869-1945 Papers, 1892-1896, inclusive, (Peabody Museum Archives, Harvard University)