Twee mannen die omhoog klimmen via een spleet in de rotsen in Mesa Verde National Park before 1893

This photogravure by Gustaf Nordenskiöld captures two men ascending a crevice in the rock formations of Mesa Verde National Park. It comes from his publication, ‘The Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde,’ published in 1893. Nordenskiöld was a Swedish mineralogist and explorer and his book was one of the first detailed accounts of the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings. But the image also speaks to the rise of archaeology as a colonial practice. The late 19th century saw increasing interest in ancient cultures, yet this interest was often intertwined with the desire to classify, control, and exploit indigenous peoples and their heritage. Nordenskiöld removed a substantial number of artifacts from the site which are now housed in the National Museum of Finland. Examining the politics surrounding this image and the broader context of archaeological exploration allows us to understand the complex relationship between scientific inquiry, cultural heritage, and colonial power dynamics.