E. G. Squier was a journalist, diplomat, and archaeologist whose extensive travels in Latin America resulted in important and definitive contributions to the study of archaeology in Central America and Peru. An authority on Central America and its antiquities in particular, he published the results of his travels and investigations in several well-received books, many of which were translated into Spanish, French, and German. He was a renowned nineteenth-century Americanist, the first president of the Anthropological Institute of New York, and a member of many learned societies.

Ephraim George Squier was born in Bethlehem, New York on 17 June 1821, the son of Joel Squier, a Methodist minister, and Catharine Külmer Squier. Although he did attend the local school, Squier was raised on a farm, and much of his education came from independent reading fitted around his farm chores. Squier taught school in the winters and studied civil...