Cottie Arthur Burland (GBR)

Cottie Burland was born in Kensington, London, on the 17th of September in 1905. After being educated in London schools, he studied at Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1925 he became an ethnographer for the British Museum of London, a position he kept for 40 years. He married Maud March on June 20, 1928. They had three children- Poppy Ann, Christopher van Tromp, and Julian Cornelis. When the call of war came in 1940, Burland joined the Royal Air Force where he served until 1944. In 1950, he became the Honorary Curator for the Abbey Art Centre Museum in New Barnet, Hertfordshire, a position he held until 1955. Burland was a member of the Royal Anthropological Institute, the Societe de Americanistes de Paris, the Folklore Society of London, the Ludwig Keimer Foundation and the British Society of Aesthetics.

Cottie Burland is most recognized for his work on ancient cultures and primitive peoples. His contributions that were the most valuable was in his study of Latin American pre-Hispanic cultures. The study of the Maya, the Incas, and the Aztecs has always been very difficult and most of what has been learned has come from archaeological investigations, which does not allow for a complete understanding of their cultures. In 1948, he wrote Life and Art in Ancient Mexico. This book started a long and diverse list of publications until 1980. His book The Gods of Mexico is about the ancient religions there. I. R. Blacker of the New York Times Book Review, said that Burland's project (the writing of The Gods of Mexico) was "incredible: [Burland] has attempted to organized and to clarify what little is actually known about the several thousand-year-old religions of ancient Mexico." "Burland has succeeded in illuminating not only Mexican religion, but also pre-Columbian society as a whole" according to a reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement. Burland had interests that far outreached traditional religions in Mexico. He also wrote about the occult , astrology, telepathy, witchcraft, animism, voodoo, herbalism and folklore. His work and research has helped guide both archeologists and the general public alike in the search for the understanding of these cultures through his books.

Burland’s other specialty was the art of primitive people. He liked to look at the art of cultures before and during contact with Europeans. He wrote many books on various mythologies and occult topics, such as Secrets of the Occult, and Beyond Science: A Journey into the Supernatural. Burland’s most influential and important books, however, were those directed at young people, such as his several books for juveniles that were meant to give an introduction to ancient civilizations.

Some of his other publications include:

Art and the Life in Ancient Mexico (1948)
The Magic Arts: A Short History (1966)
The Gods of Mexico (1967)
North American Indian Mythology (1967)
Peru Under the Incas (1967)
Montezuma: Lord of the Aztecs (1973)
Eskimo Art (1973)
Myths of Life and Death (1974)
People of the Sun: The Civilizations of Pre-Columbian America (1976)

For all of his achievements, Burland was awarded the Imago Mundi Award in 1965. Besides his work in the fields of history, archeology, art, and the occult, he also found time to be an art critic with the London Arts Review.Burland's interests extended from prehistoric times to the present and from all corners of the world. For most of his life, Cottie resided with his family near Hampton Court in Moseley, England. Cottie Burland died March 18, 1985 at the age of 78 in Australia while on a visit with his daughter.

Burland said:

".....I take pleasure in trying to spread knowledge which links the past with the future through us Now. I began to write because I wanted to spread
knowledge of the world I studied at the British Museum- the world of ancient America. The people I write for are grown-ups who are interested in
esoteric subjects like anthropology, alchemy, and witchcraft, and the youngsters who want to know more about the world they live in. My children's books are the most important side of my writing. My secret pride is a page in a catalog of the British Museum Library, the list of my books takes up two columns out of over two million listing the books which people have published. It's nice to be in good company!"

Source: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/burland_cottie.html