When we hear the term cultural heritage, we often think of art pieces, monuments, buildings and archaeological sites. But in reality, it is so much more than that.
It is the whole set of values and traditions that make up a culture. This includes intangible elements as well such as oral history, dance, music and social practices.
What is Cultural Heritage?
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations and maintained and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. It includes a diverse range of things, such as: cultures and traditions, values, beliefs, social behavior, arts, music, sports, history and practices concerning the natural environment, traditional clothing, cybercultures in the digital world, and much more.
It is important to note that both the tangible and intangible forms of cultural heritage are equally as significant as each other. They all contribute to the richness of human society and need to be preserved for future generations to come. Illicit trafficking of artifacts, pillaging of archaeological sites and destruction of historical buildings are just a few of the ways that people damage cultural heritage, which is why it’s important to protect it through national laws and international treaties.
Libraries play a vital role in safeguarding cultural heritage, especially when it comes to digitizing and preserving old documents that are part of a culture’s history. While a quick online search of the term “cultural heritage” in the context of libraries reveals a lot of articles about the preservation and digitization of documents, there’s little explanation about what the concept of cultural heritage actually means.
A quick online search also reveals that the term is often used in the context of protecting cultural heritage from illicit trafficking, which can be extremely dangerous for artifacts and works of art. However, this is not the only use of the term, and the meaning of cultural heritage is far more akin to that of intangible heritage, namely the heritage of a society’s social and intellectual traditions. With the advent of technology that enables more and more content to be digitized, including intangible cultural heritage, it has never been easier to preserve this kind of legacy for the future.
Tangible Cultural Heritage
Tangible cultural heritage includes buildings, monuments, museums and sites that are a physical expression of the values, beliefs and aspirations of a community. It may have a historic, aesthetic, scientific, archaeological or social value. It can also have symbolic and spiritual significance. Tangible cultural heritage is a very important part of human culture and society. It helps to shape our identity, and it can act as a link between people of different cultures and generations. It can also help to understand the past.
Buildings and architecture have an incredibly significant role in cultural heritage, and they play a key role in preserving the cultural history of societies. They can be used as a way to represent the values, beliefs, traditions and aspirations of a society, and they can serve as a source of inspiration for future generations. Some of the most famous examples of buildings and architectural heritage are the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China.
While tangible cultural heritage is the more common type of cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is equally important. ICH encompasses non-physical aspects of culture, including folklore activities, customs and beliefs, traditions, knowledge, language, and more. The safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage is the focus of international agreements like UNESCO’s conventions. Examples of intangible cultural heritage include the Day of the Dead in Mexico, tango dancing in Argentina and Uruguay, and the tradition of making Kimchi in Korea.
There are also a number of natural phenomena that can be considered to be intangible cultural heritage, such as the soundscape and atmosphere of a place, or a particular animal behaviour. However, in order for a natural phenomenon to be considered as part of the cultural heritage, it must have been influenced by culture at some point. For example, an animal’s natural behaviour might be a result of genetic variation but it would not be considered to be a part of the cultural heritage unless that variation had been influenced by culture through training and interaction with humans.