The Aztecs before the scientists, plate 211 from Actualités 1855

Honoré Daumier made this lithograph, The Aztecs before the Scientists, as plate 211 from Actualités. Daumier was a master of social commentary, and here, he uses the guise of representing Aztec people to satirize the scientific community of his time. Made in France, the print reflects the 19th-century fascination with exotic cultures, often framed through a lens of European superiority. The 'scientists' depicted are unflattering caricatures, embodying a skeptical, almost hostile gaze toward the 'Aztecs.' This highlights a critical view of how scientific institutions of the time approached and often misrepresented cultures different from their own. We see here the politics of imagery in play, where representation is tied to power dynamics. Historical archives, anthropological studies, and critical race theory offer us invaluable resources to understanding the institutional biases inherent in such depictions.