Gezicht op de ruïne van een rotswoning in Mesa Verde National Park before 1893

This is a photograph taken by the Swedish scholar Gustaf Nordenskiöld, sometime in the late 19th century, capturing the ruins of a cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. Nordenskiöld’s image speaks to a moment of increasing archaeological interest in the American Southwest. It reflects a time when ideas about the ancient world were being reshaped through scientific exploration and excavation. The stark black and white tones and the framing of the architecture evoke a sense of mystery and timelessness, but also a scientific gaze, attempting to document and classify the site. The image also subtly hints at the complicated colonial dimensions of this kind of research. The ruins depicted are evidence of ancestral Pueblo culture, and by studying them, figures like Nordenskiöld were participating in a broader project of mapping and understanding indigenous lands. Understanding the image fully means examining field reports, museum archives, and the writings of contemporary Native American voices to gain a more complete understanding of this history.