Cultural heritage is a way of life expressed through objects, beliefs, traditions, and significant places. It contributes to community identity and fosters a sense of belonging.
The value of a piece of cultural heritage is more than an object’s market price. It includes a variety of intangible attributes that are difficult to estimate.
Definition
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes inherited by a community from past generations. It is also a fundamental component of regional character and distinctiveness and defines community identity.
The destruction or disappearance of tangible cultural heritage entails significant losses for society beyond the value of the individual objects. This is why the UNESCO World Heritage Conventions seek to preserve buildings and archaeological sites of outstanding universal value. Illicit trafficking of artifacts and other illicit activities aimed at destroying or damaging cultural heritage are considered acts of cultural and social genocide.
Bringing greater rigor to the estimation of costs and benefits—including intangible nonuse values—of cultural heritage is important to inform policy decisions that support preservation efforts. The use of revealed and stated preference techniques originally developed to evaluate the benefits of environmental conservation can be applied to estimate these intangible nonuse values. These methods will help identify the right level of investment to maintain a cultural asset, as well as to determine its societal worth.
Types
There are many different types of cultural heritage. Tangible cultural heritage can include buildings, monuments, historic districts, works of art, and other physical objects. It can also be intangible such as a language, dance or story. Intangible cultural heritage is a living element of culture and needs to be nurtured, just as the tangible elements of a city’s heritage need to be maintained and protected for future generations.
Intangible heritage is more difficult to preserve than tangible heritage, but it is equally important and necessary for a community. Intangible heritage includes the customs and practices, languages, beliefs, traditions and cuisines of a community. These are the things that make a place unique and help to define its identity. It is the way that people live together and the things that are important to them. These are the values that are passed down from one generation to the next. They may be expressed in the form of art/crafts, literature and music as well as everyday behaviour such as how people dress, walk, interact and even what they eat.
Meaning
Intangible cultural heritage includes customs and practices, artistic expressions, beliefs, languages, folklore, and traditions that shape a community’s identity. These characteristics often contribute to regional character and distinctiveness, influencing how communities are organized and how landscapes are developed.
Cultural heritage provides an important sense of connection and continuity for a society, and plays a role in promoting social cohesion and community development. It can also help attract tourism and investment.
Cultural heritage is a complex concept, and the ways we care for it are continually evolving. For example, the recognition that cultural heritage does not exist in isolation from a wider natural environment has led to a new philosophy that combines cultural and natural heritage under one umbrella concept. This approach is increasingly being adopted in conservation practice. It recognizes that preserving cultural heritage requires balancing preservation and sustainability goals, and involves working with a diverse set of stakeholders who have varying needs and priorities.
Purpose
Cultural heritage reflects the values of unique communities and helps them maintain their identities. It also inspires a sense of belonging and promotes the development of a responsible society. However, preservation efforts must balance the influences of global culture with the need to protect a culture’s unique attributes.
The preservation of cultural heritage can be accomplished through conservation, documentation and education. Efforts often involve a variety of experts from many different disciplines, including architects, conservators, engineers, archaeologists, material scientists, and biologists. Additionally, anthropologists, historians, geologists, and hydrologists may play an important role in safeguarding physical and natural sites.
UNESCO is a major force in raising global awareness about the importance of protecting cultural heritage by designating World Heritage Sites. In addition to providing protection, this designation fosters international cooperation and encourages sustainable tourism practices that support local communities. For example, the digitization of historical documents and art can help to preserve them. In addition, technology can be used to analyze dance movements and boost understanding of their underlying meaning.