SCARCE

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SCARCE: A Project on Early Modern Resources

Image of the 16th century about "Tubal-Cain in his forge"

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, RP-P-2005-214-9-2, Public Domain.

About SCARCE

SCARCE (Sustained Concerns: Administration of Mineral Resource Extraction in Central Europe, 1550-1850) is a project led by Sebastian Felten and supported by the European Research Council (ERC). It aims to better understand how early modern people conceptualised resources, and how modern approaches to the material world are rooted or not in earlier practices of resource management. Hosted by the History Department — part of the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna — the project runs from 1 November 2023 until 31 October 2028.

Learn more about SCARCE

Cover illustration for the 1773 work "A Guide to the Art of Mining" (original: Anleitung zu der Bergbaukunst) — Cover illustration for the 1773 work "Anleitung zu der Bergbaukunst" [A Guide to the Art of Mining]

What's new?

Three Reflections on the Joint HSS and ESHS Meeting 2026

08.08.2026 Blog post

Group picture of the Minescapes Symposium

Claire, Sebastian, and Sarah share impressions from the joint HSS and ESHS conference in Edinburgh, 2026.

07.08.2026

Short Reflection

Call for Papers: Mineral Expertise: The Rules of Knowing Earthly Matter in the Early Modern World

10.07.2026

Pieces of Volcanic minerals from Solfatara. Coloured etching, by Pietro Fabris, 1776, in: William Hamilton, Campi Phlegraei, volume 2 (1776), plate LIII.

February 04-06, 2027

SCARCE Workshop

University of Bologna

Deadline for Submission: July 10th 2026

Sebastian Felten visits the 'Metals, Minerals, and the Life Cycle' working group at the MPIWG

02.03.2026

From March to May, Sebastian wil be in Berlin at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.

What's next?

Shifting Perspectives: Plural Worlds, Contested Sciences

13.07.2026

Joint Meeting of The History of Science Society and the European Society for the History of Science

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Labor and Technology

10.06.2026

Illustration for the History and Social Sciences Festival entitled "Transformations of Labor"

Roundtable Discussion

RECET Festival of Historical and Social Sciences "Transformations of Labor"

University of Vienna

Grains, Globes, and Common Ground between Merchants and Jewellers in Europe's Seventeenth Century Gem Trade

02.06.2026

Workshop

Presentation by Claire Sabel

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Berlin, Germany

Don't forget to check out our blog

Get deeper insights into the workings of our research project!

The Assay

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, RP-P-2005-214-9-2, Public Domain.

Let's stay in touch!

Funded by the European Union (ERC, SCARCE, Grant number 101076422). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

More information about the ERC grant