Pothunters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. People who hunt game animals merely to fill the cooking pot or sell the meat ; those who dig up ancient sites for artifacts to sell ; contestants who pursue prizes and trophies instead of playing for the love of the game
2. Hunters who shoot game for the table or the market ; looters who secretly excavate ruins to sell relics ; competitors motivated only by winning cups rather than by fair play
3. Those who kill wild animals for meat or profit ; illicit diggers who ransack old burial grounds for treasures ; athletes who seek awards above all else and care little for the sport itself

Etymology: "Pothunters" is the plural of "pothunter," which is a compound of "pot" and "hunter." In its older hunting sense, a pothunter was someone who shot game merely to fill the cooking pot, with no interest in sport or trophies, and the word carried a note of disapproval toward those who hunted for food rather than for the chase itself. The meaning then shifted in archaeology, where a pothunter is someone who digs up old pottery, usually from ancient sites, to sell to collectors or dealers. The archaeological sense is the one that has come to dominate. Looters who dig for artifacts to sell are often called pothunters because pottery was the most commonly recovered and marketable find from many ancient sites, so the word moved from the cooking pot to the buried clay vessel. In both senses the first element points to a practical purpose, whether food or sale, and the second names the activity of seeking.

Synonyms: poacher, looter, trophy hunter