Summary

Integrating archival sources with pseudo-documentary fabrications, Jesse Lerner’s Ruins delves into the tangled legacies of Mesoamerican antiquarianism, revealing how archaeologists, art historians, and museum curators have, for centuries, fashioned various theories about pre-Columbian civilizations from the stuff of colonialist fantasies and ingenious forgeries. Structured around five key vignettes in this history, Lerner’s film combines travelogues, newsreels, and educational films to examine the claims of various experts like early-20th century “dean of the Mayanists” Sylvanus G. Morley and archaeologist Michael Coe, longtime curator of Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History.