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RESEARCH PRODUCT
The Significance of Treasure Hunting: Past and Present
Johannes DillingerJohannes Dillingersubject
Agrarian societyHistoryPovertyEarly modern periodRepeated failureEnvironmental ethicsHuman conditionProtestant work ethicTreasureArchaeologydescription
It is certainly insufficient to explain treasure hunting as a reaction to poverty or a form of greed and avarice.1 Avarice has been seen as a part of the human condition and thus as a non-historical, that is, a quasi-anthropological constant. Anthropological constants hardly ever help to explain the behaviour of historical people. In our case, an alleged human tendency to accumulate material wealth does not explain why some people engaged in treasure hunting whereas others did not. Why did people look for treasure? Why did they talk about treasure? Why were they willing to suffer the repeated failure of treasure hunts and continue to look for hidden riches?
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-01-01 |