Heritage intro - 30.9.24

“things, places and activities that relate to the past but have significance in the present”

History is the study of the past, using primarily documentary evidence, written sources, and first-hand experience/ oral records. Objectivity is a primary ideal aiming to preserve, understand, analyse and reconstruct these ideas, processes and documents.

Archaeology is focused on material culture, and its main aims are to preserve and understand the remains of the past. The focus is on pre-history, before fully written records. Archaeology comes before history in terms of definition.

Heritage is the study of what the past means to us, “the re-packaging of the past to serve the present”, it is the use of the past to serve the present. NO CRITICAL ANALYSIS, IT IS WHAT IT IS.

Types of heritage:

Natural: Objects and intangible attributes of nature, geodiversity, biodiversity

Cultural heritage: Physical tangible attributes of human culture, material culture such as artefacts or buildings. OR intangible attributes of human culture, customs such as oral traditions or performing arts.

“Heritage is never inert, people engage with it, re-work it, appropriate it and contest it” (Bender cited in Harvey 2001)

https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists - Current list of heritage sights

Attributing meaning and significance

Any group can attribute meaning to anything to suit their purpose and aims. If an artefact or practice becomes significant to a particular group it may be seen as exclusive to that group but the same artefact or practice can be attributed with meaning or significance by any other group at any time. Material culture is often symbolism for the group that uses it the most, created it or draws the “most” meaning to it such as daffodils (linked to being Welsh).

“Heritage itself is not a thing and does not exist by itself…rather heritage is about the process by which people use the past”