"Visual Quotations"

Photographs by Richard Freeman

Quotations from the Past: Ancient Civilizations

Early in my travels to Latin America I ended up at the Mayan ruins of Tikal in northern Guatemala. I had no idea what to expect. It was my first time in a jungle, which completely wowed me. Abandoned ant trails heading off into the distance, cut six inches wide through the heavy undergrowth of the lush jungle floor. Toucans swooping by. Monkeys laughung at us. Then there were the ruins. Spectacular! It was there that I thought to become an archaeologist. That didn't come to pass (I ended up more interested in living people). But from that day I always held a deep interest in archaeological sites. Here are a few selections from some of my travels. All those from Latin America were taken on the same journey in 1986-87. Those from Kenya were taken in 2000 and the Great Wall images were taken in 2005 (and are the only set here of born digital images).