[meteorite-list] WHO IS THE BEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL METEORITEHUNTER OUT THERE?

From: Martin Altmann <altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:22:50 +0200
Message-ID: <003301ca094d$f25e2b70$177f2a59_at_name86d88d87e2>

Hunters & gatherers
All the same.


>hunters and those who do it for Science

That's a very common misconception - who says that the not officially
appointed hunters wouldn't serve science? To a private hunter or dealer it
doesn't matter, whether he sells to a private collector or to an university.
In fact they serve science very well, in delivering the deposit and type
specimens of their finds for free, making other donations too;
in offering a larger diversity and quantity of finds than e.g. all
scientific campaigns together had found so far,
and that at enormously lower costs than science would have to bear to find
that pieces by their own, even allowing them to cherry-pick the most
interesting material, while with the official searchs you have to pay also
for the main load, the weathered chondrites, where nobody is interested in.
So a certain service to science can't be denied.

>those who recover meteorite for a living
A very few can maintain (an often very modest)living standard with their
finds only, cause they sell that stuff so cheap.

Btw. that protectionist debate has even some social implications.
In principle many of the most successful hunters on the planet,
do have to look for a new job now, since it's forbidden to search in Oman.
Well for them and for other hunters or also for the NWA dealers of the first
world, if then Morocco as last free Sahara country will be closed,
that will be easier
than for all the nameless local NWA-hunters in the Sahara countries,
to whose we and science owe many more recoveries and in total also more
important recoveries than Antarctica ever yielded. The foundation of their
existence will be destroyed.
(If I look in the publication records, it's astonishing that some, who shout
loudest for banning private hunting, had the highest profit of the excellent
work of these NWA-people. For my taste, that is morally abhorrent.)

 
Ah Pierre, is it theoretically possible, that the expert hunters could take
part in an Antarctic field trip as official members or are there formal
obstacles?
Would be perhaps promising, if those who proved to have the best skills in
spotting meteorites in the hot deserts would try their abilities there once
too?

At least I'd guess, that the one or other would immediately shake in on such
an opportunity. Imagine, for them it must be like a holiday. To be free of
that pressure to succeed to find something better than an OC or an EUC, to
get the expedition costs refinanced. Salary carries on coming in, to be
insured. Not to have to care and to pay for transportation and equipment,
Not to have wait for the classification, no preparation, polishing, cutting
- and not to have to care for selling that stuff
Aaaaaaand most important: to take part in that ADVENTURE !!

Best!
Martin
  

 

-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
Von: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] Im Auftrag von
rochette at cerege.fr
Gesendet: Montag, 20. Juli 2009 14:38
An: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Betreff: [meteorite-list] WHO IS THE BEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL
METEORITEHUNTER OUT THERE?

as a response to Martin, yes one could consider that those who
recover meteorite for a living are hunters and those who do it for
Science and academic carrier are searchers, but this leaves apart
those that are not academics but do this as a passion and live on
another job. Moreover the activity is the same, the only difference
being the source of money on the personal bank account. I hunt
animals for fun, not for feeding my family; still I consider myself
as a hunter in that activity.

-- 
Pierre
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Received on Mon 20 Jul 2009 11:22:50 AM PDT