Divining Science
Treasure Hunting and Earth Science in Early Modern Germany
Seiten
2010
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-18642-2 (ISBN)
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-18642-2 (ISBN)
The patronage of dowsers by mining administrations through the eighteenth century challenges common assumptions about the Enlightenment. Rather than decline in importance like alchemy and astrology, dowsing transformed from a study of mineral vapors into an experimental branch of geophysics.
The study of German mining and metallurgy has focused overwhelmingly on labor, capitalism, and progressive engineering and earth science. This book addresses prospecting practices and mining culture. Using the divining, or dowsing rod as a means of exposing miner beliefs, it argues that a robust vernacular science preceded institutionalized geology in Saxony, and that the Freiberg Mining Academy (f.1765) became a site for the synthesis of tradition and new science. The tacit knowledge of dowsing was the mark of the experienced prospector, and rather than decline in importance through the Enlightenment, the practice transformed from a study of mineral vapors into an experimental branch of geophysics. Mining administrations openly hired practitioners through the eighteenth century.
The study of German mining and metallurgy has focused overwhelmingly on labor, capitalism, and progressive engineering and earth science. This book addresses prospecting practices and mining culture. Using the divining, or dowsing rod as a means of exposing miner beliefs, it argues that a robust vernacular science preceded institutionalized geology in Saxony, and that the Freiberg Mining Academy (f.1765) became a site for the synthesis of tradition and new science. The tacit knowledge of dowsing was the mark of the experienced prospector, and rather than decline in importance through the Enlightenment, the practice transformed from a study of mineral vapors into an experimental branch of geophysics. Mining administrations openly hired practitioners through the eighteenth century.
Warren Alexander Dym, Ph.D. (2005) in History, University of California, Davis, is presently visiting assistant professor at University of Miami. He publishes on German mining and earth science history.
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Glossary of Mining and Metallurgical Terms
Introduction
1. White Gold on Spitzberg Hill
2. Magic, Witchcraft, and the Nature of the Rod
3. Mining Science: Vernacular Knowledge
4. True Stories of Freiberg Dowsers
5. The Murderous Matter: Dowsing and New Science
6. The Electric Rod: Dowsing and the Freiberg Mining Academy
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography
Index
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 24.9.2010 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Studies in Central European Histories ; 52 |
| Zusatzinfo | 9 Illustrations, black and white |
| Verlagsort | Leiden |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 155 x 235 mm |
| Gewicht | 499 g |
| Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918) |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte | |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie | |
| Technik ► Bergbau | |
| ISBN-10 | 90-04-18642-5 / 9004186425 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-90-04-18642-2 / 9789004186422 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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