In 1891, Swedish scientist Gustaf Nordenskiold studied, explored, and photographed many of Mesa Verde’s cliff dwellings. Considered by many to be the first true archeologist at Mesa Verde, his book, The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde, was the first extensive record of its cliff dwellings. This edition is richly illustrated with Nordenskiold's own drawings and photographs which have been digitally remastered.

"The summer and autumn of 1891 I passed through Colorado, engaged upon investigations of the remarkable cliff dwellings scattered in the canons of an extensive plateau, the Mesa Verde, in the southwest of the state. The present work is the result of those researches. It contains a description of the ruins, an account of the excavations carried out there and of the objects discovered." - G. Nordenskiold, Preface