What question did this study set out to answer?

To explore the colonial practices involved in the large-scale collection of fossils and artifacts during the German expedition to Tendaguru.

January 22, 2026Open Access

Taking nature: Collecting and the exercise of colonial power

Key Points

To explore the colonial practices involved in the large-scale collection of fossils and artifacts during the German expedition to Tendaguru.
Analyzed unexamined sources related to the 1909-1913 Tendaguru expedition
Documented the collection process and the subsequent distribution of gathered specimens
Examined how colonial infrastructures facilitated the extraction of materials
Identified the total extraction of 250 metric tons of dinosaur fossils and numerous additional specimens
Demonstrated the reliance on colonial power and violence in the collection process
Highlighted the importance of understanding collecting as an act of power in a colonial context

Abstract

Argument Over a four-year period from 1909 to 1913, the German expedition to Tendaguru removed 250 metric tons of dinosaur fossils from what is now Tanzania and was then part of the colony of German East Africa. To this day, these fossils – some of them now world-famous exhibits – are held in Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde. Using hitherto unexamined sources, this paper reveals how the expedition’s leaders translated their initial mission of “thorough excavation” into a strategy of total extraction, leading them to amass thousands of additional animals, plant samples, and cultural artifacts that were subsequently distributed among Berlin’s national museums. It shows that this multi-institutional and transdisciplinary colonial archive relied heavily on colonial infrastructures and violence and argues that collecting in this context must be understood as an enactment of power. Following Dan Hicks, it asks how this history might be interpreted within a theory of taking.

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