Conversation so far:
Why was the Maya civilization being investigated?
The agents of the Catholic Church wrote detailed accounts of the Maya, in support of their efforts at evangelization, and absorption of the Maya into the Spanish Empire.
Was there anything bad that caused the investigation as well?
Their illustrated accounts of the ruins sparked strong popular interest, and brought the Maya to the attention of the world.
How did people perceive the Maya civilization to be?
In the 1960s, the distinguished Mayanist J.
Eric S.
Thompson promoted the ideas that Maya cities were essentially vacant ceremonial centres serving a dispersed population.

Question: Why did he say this?
Self-contained rewrite: Why did Mayanist J. Eric S. Thompson say that Maya cities were essentially vacant ceremonial centres serving a dispersed population?