At the end of the 19th century speleology went through a radical change. Governmental organizations and private clubs were founded and tried to establish speleology as an independent scientific subject. Geological fieldwork – especially cave cartography – became a common practice in speleology and gave important hints on speleogenesis, which was still a controversial issue in the first half of the 20th century. Due to the fact that speleologists began to separate themselves from ordinary cave visitors and tourists, instruments for cave mapping like compass, clinometer and drawing board became the emblems for speleology.

Did this change in the status and nature of fieldwork have an effect on the cooperation between scientists and explorers? In what way did the usage of new surveying instruments modify the social parameters of research and perception of the subterranean world? Historic scientific papers on cave mapping and photographic glass plates from the archives of the caving clubs in Vienna and Salzburg (Austria) were used as sources for my research.

The results show that speleological fieldwork necessitated a division of labour. At least four cavers had to work together and a precisely defined task was assigned to every member. The role of cartographer, normally occupied by a leading geologist or a geological trained caver, was the only one, having the privilege of interpreting and naming the underground places. New instruments like the “Speläometer” by Spöcker (1925) became not only a fix part of the caving equipment, the connection between the scientists and the instruments required also a special training and instruction of the survey assistants. This led to an increased disciplinary action within the survey group and an identification of the scientists with the instrument.

Rather than individual perception and qualitative reports, objective data and quantifying methods became more important in speleology. Special results like the length, total depth and vertical rage of a cave were used as a scale for the social prestige of each explorer. In context of naming and “owning” of colonial territories during the imperialism period cave cartography can be seen as a part of a ritual appropriation of the underground places.