SOUNDEPTH's subject is the evolution of the early modern debate on ore generation and of our understanding of geological phenomena and natural resources. The project has been carried out through:
- acquisition of scientific knowledge/skills;
- analysis of sources;
- confrontation with secondary literature;
- replication in laboratory of experiments/exploration of historical mining sites.
The outgoing phase of the project has focused mainly on the analysis of texts, the acquisition of new knowledge, and laboratory replications of alchemical/chymical experiments. The secondment period and the incoming phase have been devoted essentially to refining existing expertise and to the exploration of historical mining sites. Research outputs have been produced throughout the duration of the project.
CONTEXT, STATE OF THE ART, SOCIETAL RELEVANCE OF THE ISSUE ADDRESSED
The origin/growth of ores was a central issue for mining and natural philosophy in early modern Europe and acted as a catalyst for interaction between miners, craftsmen, technicians, scholars, alchemists. On the one side, mining sites became field laboratories where mineral processes were observed/interpreted; on the other, laboratories became places where the replication of these processes was attempted. Above and underground, organic analogies became a key tool in the attempt to rationalize observations and experiments. This tangle of theories and practices interacted with the roots of experimental science, whose advent did not entail an uncritical rejection of pre-existing knowledge.
This debate had a crucial influence on the evolution of human-environment relationship, an influence whose extent is yet to be fully determined. Shedding new light on how our understanding of mineral resources changed through the centuries can offer potential for investigating the changes occurred in our perception of natural exploitability, renewability, exhaustibility. This can help us to better reconstruct the emergence of humans as geological/environmental agents and, therefore, contribute towards a more historically contextualized and pragmatic approach to the environmental debate.
OBJECTIVES
SOUNDEPTH’s main goal was to understand how the early modern study of mineral generation evolved in Europe, and how the theoretical/practical knowledge underlying this debate influenced the rise and development of the Earth sciences and the role of humans as geological/environmental agents. The project has aimed to:
- Provide new insights into the history of the study of geological phenomena and natural resources;
- Shed new light on the evolution of the human-environment system;
- Contribute to the progress of the environmental debate;
- Shape an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the history of science and environmental history;
- Contribute to the methodological consolidation of the experimental history of science as a research tool.
