The Manitou Cliff Dwelling as Public Archaeology: the Ethnographic Museum and the Plurality of Early Archaeological Interpretation

Downloads

Published

2019-12-21

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13138/2039-2362/2185

Authors

  • Kristin M. Barry Ball State University, USA

Abstract

While characterized as a recently-established profession, public archaeology has had a significant impact on the interpretation of historical material for over a century. Early ethnographic museums, such as the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, and ancient pueblo sites in the American West were developed as forms of entertainment, specifically to attract tourism, and employed controversial interpretations, often eliminating the nuances of individual tribes and cultural practices. Though interpretive practices have substantially changed, some of the techniques remain part of the interpretation of American Indian peoples even today, perpetuating their influence on the way that individual and collective cultures are viewed by the general public. The employed presentation approaches at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings specifically would not be considered standard practice now, but the involvement of modern American Indian performers among the ruins, and the inclusion of public participation in the site each provide an influential methodology for engaging modern visitors in archaeological remains.

 

Pur caratterizzandosi come disciplina di recente istituzione, l’archeologia pubblica ha avuto un impatto significativo sull’interpretazione del materiale storico per oltre un secolo. I primi musei etnografici, come il Manitou Cliff Dwellings e i siti dei popoli ancestrali dell’America occidentale, sono stati realizzati come luoghi di intrattenimento e specificamente progettati per attrarre turismo, spesso eliminando le sfumature tra singole tribù e pratiche culturali. Sebbene le pratiche interpretative siano cambiate sostanzialmente, alcume tecniche rimangono parte dell’interpretazione degli indiani d’America ancora oggi, perpetuando la loro influenza sul modo in cui le culture individuali e collettive sono viste dal grande pubblico. Oggi gli approcci di presentazione adottati a Manitou Cliff Dwellings non sarebbero considerati una pratica standard, ma il coinvolgimento di artisti indiani americani contemporanei tra le rovine e l’inclusione della partecipazione del pubblico nel sito forniscono una metodologia importante per coinvolgere i visitatori attuali nei resti archeologici.

References

Arnold C. (1980), The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, New York: Clarion Books.

Christian T. (1992), Museum shows life at the cliff, «Globe & Mail», 23 September.

Clark J. (1999), Rocky Mountain High and Denver Delights, «American Federation of Aviculture Watchbird», 26, n. 3, pp. 33-35.

Dean C. (1907), Historical Facts of the Ancient Cliff Dwellers and a Glimpse of the Ruins and Canon at Manitou, Manitou, CO: The Manitou Cliff Dwellers’ Ruins Co.

Ellis R. (1997), The Changing Image of the Anasazi World in American Imagination, in Anasazi Architecture and American Design, edited by B. Morrow, V. Price, Albuquerque, NM: Univeristy of New Mexico Press.

Fewkes J. (1919), Prehistoric Villages, Castles, and Towers of Southwestern Colorado, «Bureau of American Athnology Bulletin», n. 70, pp. 1-79.

Finley J. (2010), Virginia Donaghe McClurg: Mesa Verde Crusader, in Extraordinary Women of the Rocky Mountain West, edited by T. Blevins, D. Daily, C. Nicholl, C.P. Otto, K. Scott Sturdevant, Pikes Peak, CO: Pikes Peak Library District, pp. 75-88.

Gilbert S. (2017), Perceived Realism of Virtual Environments Depends on Authenticity, «Presence», 25, n. 4, pp. 322-324.

Green C. (1891), Catalogue of a unique collection of Cliff Dweller relics taken from the lately discovered ruins of southwestern Colorado and adjacent part of Utah, New Mexico and Arizona: scientifically estimated to be the oldest relics in the world: a short history of the strange race, region and ruins, Chicago, IL: Art Institute of Chicago.

Kimball M. (2017), Heritage Place Building Theory, Heritage Impact Assessment and the Role of the Sacred Dimension, «Journal of Heritage Management», 2, n. 1, pp. 1-18.

Lawlor M. (2006), Public Native America: Tribal Self-representations in Casinos, Museums, and Powwows, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Laxson J. (1991), How “we” see “them”: Tourism and Native Americans, «Annals of Tourism Research», 18, n. 3, pp. 365-391.

Lekson S., Cameron C. (1995), The Abandonment of Chaco Canyon, the Mesa Verde Migrations, and the Reorganization of the Pueblo World, «Journal of Anthropological Archaeology», 14, n. 2, pp. 184-202.

Lonetree A. (2012), Decolonizing Museums: Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Lovata T. (2011), Archaeology as Built for the Tourists: The Anasazi Cliff Dwellings of Manitou Springs, Colorado, «International Journal of Historical Archaeology», n. 15, pp. 194-205.

Lovata T. (2009), The Fake Anasazi of Manitou Springs, Colorado: A Study in Archaeology, «Southwestern Lore», n. 75, pp. 62-70.

Monroe U. (n.d.), The Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum, Manitou Springs, CO: The Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum.

Nabokov P., Easton R. (1989), Native American Architecture, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

National Park Service (n.d.), Mesa Verde National Park Timeline, Washington DC: National Park Service.

Rosoff N. (1998), Integrating Native Views into Museum Procedures: Hope and Practice at the National Museum of the American Indian, «Museum Anthropology», 22, n. 1, pp. 33-42.

Schachner G. (2015), Ancestral Pueblo Archaeology: The Value of Synthesis, «Journal of Archaeological Research», n. 23, pp. 49-113.

Smith D. (2002), Mesa Verde National Park: Shadows of the Centuries Revised Edition, Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado,

https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/smith/index.htm, 05.30.2019.

Smith D. (2005), Women to the Rescue, Durango, CO: Durango Harold Small Press.

Smith D. (2009), Mesa Verde National Park, Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing.

Walters H., Rogers H. (2001), Anasazi and ’Anaasází: Two Words, Two Cultures, «Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History», 66, n. 6, pp. 317-326.

Author Biography

Kristin M. Barry, Ball State University, USA

Assistant Professor of Architecture

Director of Undergraduate Programs

Department of Architecture

How to Cite

Barry, K. M. (2019). The Manitou Cliff Dwelling as Public Archaeology: the Ethnographic Museum and the Plurality of Early Archaeological Interpretation. Il Capitale Culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage, (9), 251–271. https://doi.org/10.13138/2039-2362/2185