?Doing Archaeology?: cultural heritage management and its role in identifying the link between archaeological practice and theory

Using a case study of the recent history of archaeology in Australia, the paper details how Cultural Heritage Management, in addition to protecting the archaeological data base, actually protects archaeological access to it. In offering this protection, archaeologists involved in Cultural Heritage Management become the regulators of archaeological practice and theory. Here archaeology comes into direct contact and conflict with governments and a range of interest groups, notably the Aboriginal community, with a stake in material culture. In effect 'doing' Cultural Heritage Management is 'doing' archaeology.     

Universal heritage meets local livelihoods: ‘awkward engagements’ at the world cultural heritage listing in Bali

In 2012 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added to its World Heritage List the ‘Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the subak system as a manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy’. Barely a year later, UNESCO had become sufficiently concerned about reports of various problems that it advised the Government of Indonesia of these concerns. Through ethnographic study of the initial implementation of the listing, this article reveals problems of uncontrolled development, and disputes over the allocation of benefits to local communities, and challenges to effective governance. It focuses on two key locations of the site, offering an analysis of problems, their causes and effects. Beginning with the premise that the gulf of understanding between the global World Heritage system and local communities often creates a range of unintended consequences, this article reveals the many ‘awkward engagements’ that have emerged ‘on the ground’ in Bali as local agencies of government are left to their own devices to manage the World Heritage site.     

The heritage ‘NGO’: a case study on the role of grass roots heritage societies in Iran and their perception of cultural heritage

This paper examines the activities of a group of heritage enthusiasts in Iran. Grass roots heritage activism is a relatively recent phenomenon that appeared in Iran since the late 1990s. They are increasingly operating collectively as cultural or heritage NGOs. They have diverse socio-economic origins and political views. However, as this paper argues, they share a common ground in their activities; one that maintains an ambivalent and critical relationship with the state and official definitions of heritage and identity. Referring to interview and other data collected during fieldwork in Iran, this paper traces and analyses the contours of that common ground and argues that there is a nascent heritage movement in the country. The impact and contribution of these emerging and self-reflective heritage movements to Iranian identity, which is reflected in their embracing of diversity and the notion of historical continuity, reveal the dynamism and complexity of the cultural and political landscape of contemporary Iranian society. They also reveal the importance of generating further scholarship in the field of Iranian cultural heritage. In conceptualising the characteristics of a nascent heritage movement in Iran, the paper makes a new contribution to the approach of existing scholarship in the broader field of heritage studies.     

Talking to others: analysing tourists’ communications on cultural heritage experiences

In the area of cultural heritage, tourists’ experiences emphasise not only the moment and its personal nature but also socio-cultural traits. These experiences when expressed (social communications) are an important gateway to knowledge about tourists’ sense-making processes. This paper reports on the mediation between tourists and heritage sites via comments on a digital platform (TripAdvisor) about two Spanish tourist destinations with opposing characteristics and four heritage sites, which are analysed. The methodology used seeks to transcend the individual and anecdotal aspects of tourists’ comments. Indeed, the results obtained show the relevance of the humanisation and the discursive weight of heritage contexts in emotional/personal stories. Tendencies observed in non-regulated contexts confirm the role of a complex negotiation at cultural heritage sites and highlight the need to explore possible exchanges of sense in tourists’ encounters with such sites.     

Intangible cultural heritage and the better angels of folklore’s nature

Abstract

Folklore research in the United States typically is completed either through academic departments or in organisations designed to create public presentations of traditional expressive culture. These two approaches are termed ‘academic folklore’ and ‘public folklore’. The intellectual history of both approaches has recently been critiqued. One result of this deconstruction is an ambivalence over the historical legacy of key concepts in the study of folklore. Assessing elements of the critical study of folklore’s history – in both academe and the public sector – suggests opportunities for reconstituting the study of traditional culture to establish a more socially responsive approach that is relevant to ways that heritage professionals assess folklore as intangible culture heritage.     

Scaling heritage. The construction of scales in the submission process of alpinism to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list

ABSTRACT

For the last two decades, the polysemous notion of ‘scale’ has drawn an increasing amount of attention among scholars studying heritage policies and practices, often with regard to UNESCO conventions. Significantly, in many of these works, terms such as ‘global’, ‘national’ and ‘local’ are connected to categories of ‘scale’ or ‘level’ that are taken for granted by the scholars who use them to guide their analysis. This paper, in contrast, promotes a different, constructivist understanding of the notion of scale. From our perspective, there is an added value to be found in focusing—without using any preconceived or external conception of scale—on the ways in which stakeholders conceive of and use scale throughout the processes of heritage making. Using the case of alpinism and the creation of its file for submission to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, we show that the interest of this approach lies in its comprehensive ability to highlight how people define, elaborate and use scale in order to qualify their practices or to achieve specific goals.     

Whom does heritage empower,and whom does it silence? Intangible cultural heritage at the Jemaa el Fnaa,Marrakech

Since the 2001–2005 Proclamations of Masterpieces and the highly successful 2003 Convention, the UNESCO paradigms of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and safeguarding have become influential concepts in international, national and local cultural policy. But the thinking employed in the ICH model – where practitioners are ‘bearers’ of reified, bounded heritage practices – neglects the lived realities of practitioners, ultimately safeguarding little and potentially exacerbating existing inequalities. While the ICH model contains promises of community empowerment, its actual execution can in fact disempower many, merely replicating existing inequalities in the new context of ICH management. While existing literature addresses the theoretical shortcomings of UNESCO’s approach, the purpose of this article was to examine the ways in which they unfold in real life. As a practical case study, it is based on fieldwork among the performers at the Jemaa el Fnaa Square in Marrakech, a site addressed in the earliest rounds of the UNESCO ICH project. Using this case study, I discuss ways in which the issues of power inherent in the ICH paradigm have real consequences for those affected and implications for the success of the projects developed under its umbrella.     

Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: exploring the facets of Athens’ Olympic heritage

This study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athens’ cultural tourism and the city’s potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athens’ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athens’ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the city’s identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host city’s tourism development.     

?Theorising a Realm of Practice?: introducing archaeological heritage management as a research field

The paper introduces the field of archaeological heritage management, and the four papers on this subject here presented. Comparisons are made with Cultural Resource Management, Cultural Heritage Management and Archaeological Heritage Management. The research discussed here examines the management of archaeology in practical situations, including those involving indigeneity, to develop a body of theory that will help to illuminate such practice in terms of our own contemporary culture.     

It’s hard to be down when you’re up: interpreting cultural heritage through alternative media

Heritage places are characteristically imbued with a multiplicity of meanings contingent on the specificities of the society, time and space in which such places are perceived. The interpretation of places also depends on the affordances of the representational medium through which these places are perceived and the ways in which such a medium is socially deployed and interpreted. Using the ancient settlement of Sirkap, located in modern-day Pakistan, as a case study, the present article demonstrates that a change in the representational medium entails a change in the interpretation of archaeological records. Most conventional historical accounts of Sirkap use two-dimensional site maps and city plans as the primary media to represent the urban fabric of the ancient settlement. These media lend themselves to interpreting the Block D Apsidal Temple complex as the dominant socio-religious structure in the affluent northern parts of the settlement. When the authors developed an interactive three-dimensional reconstruction of Sirkap using gaming technology – a medium that allows users, through their avatars, to explore the settlement from the standpoint of a pedestrian – it was immediately obvious that the aforementioned Block D Apsidal Temple complex did not demand such an interpretation. Instead, the authors argue that, at least in the affluent northern parts of the settlement, the northern gate, its adjacent fortifications, and the Block A stupa court were the dominant structures. Such an interpretation leads the authors to question the canonical understanding of the role of the state and its military apparatus in the socio-religious life of Sirkap.     

Socio‐cultural currents affecting heritage site consideration: The impact of human values on people's attitudes and behaviour

Abstract

Many heritage site directors think of market research in simple ‘who, what, when, where’ terms; who came to their site, what did they see, when did they come, and where did they come from? Some also have employed qualitative techniques to probe ‘why’, asking groups of visitors to tell moderators why they were attracted, or not, by some specific exhibit, site or display. Research can offer a far deeper understanding than this basic marketing information. After a brief introduction focusing on the impact of demographics in the next few years, and recent trends in visits to British attractions, the analysis of key attitudinal statements regarding the psychological impact of heritage and technology is examined to see which socio‐cultural trends affect attitudes to these concepts.     

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in an ethnic theme park setting – the case of Binglanggu in Hainan Province,China

Since 2003, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has become a priority of China’s cultural heritage safeguarding policies at all levels. Despite this, academic research has paid limited attention to the safeguarding of ICH in a theme park setting. This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of safeguarding ICH in an ethnic theme park in China. It investigates how the Binglanggu theme park in Hainan aims to contribute to the safeguarding of Li minority heritage. The study is based on qualitative data consisting of interviews with Li minority members working at Binglanggu, the Vice-Manager of the theme park and interviews with heritage and tourism experts in Hainan, as well as observation at the theme park. The findings indicate that, when concentrating on certain ICH expressions that align with the state’s ethnic minority narrative, the theme park makes an important contribution to the research and documentation of Li minority heritage. However, the park struggles to transmit ICH expressions to the younger generations. The research concludes that essential criteria to contribute to the safeguarding of ICH are to include the ethnic minority group in the safeguarding process, for example by employing them in management positions, and to concentrate more strongly on education and transmission.     

Adopting ‘things of the little’: intangible cultural heritage and experiential authenticity of place in the Jewellery Quarter,Birmingham

The paper discusses notions and experiences of authenticity of place in relation to intangible cultural heritage. Drawing on qualitative informant interviews with representatives of traditional and new businesses in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham (UK), it analyses authenticity of place with regard to three key dimensions: the experience of origins, the experience of continuity and the experience of potentiality and actuality. Findings suggest that intangible cultural heritage activates and facilitates experiences of authenticity, often related to people’s individual identity constructs and associated benefits or detriments. Some heritage concepts have evolved from their narrowly defined historic context and inform experiences of authenticity in the present.     

‘All mucked up’: sharing stories of Yolŋu–Macassan cultural heritage at Bawaka,north-east Arnhem Land

From the eighteenth-century Macassan traders from the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi made regular visits to northern Australia, where with the help of Yol?u, Indigenous Australians living in north-east Arnhem Land, they collected trepang (sea cucumber) for trade. Along with sharing language, technology and culture, the Macassans and Yol?u involved built relationships that are celebrated today in Yol?u art, songs and stories. While the trepang trade had officially stopped by 1906, resonances of this complex relationship continued and still continue today. This paper shares a number of stories told by one particular Yol?u family about this heritage and reflects on the ways in which for Yol?u, the tangible heritage (artefacts), intangible heritage (stories) and the land itself are locked in a symbiotic relationship where each depends on the others to define their existence. Looking after, or protecting this heritage, is therefore about attending to place, and the nature, storytellers, objects and stories contained within it.     

Divided commons: The political economy of Southern Africa's cultural heritage landscapes—Observations of the central Kalahari game reserve, Botswana

La herencia cultural de Africa del Sur provee un mayor entendimiento sobre cómo la herencia discordante y su manejo puede reflejar tensiones más sistemáticas en la manera cómo las identidades son construidas. Estos conflictos pueden en parte ser atribuidos a las maneras por las cuales el pasado ha sido construido en la sociedad. Algunas antiguas demandas disputadas sobre recursos, particularmente sobre tierra, son evidentes en los conflictos contemporáneos que están identificados con el valor del uso de los escenarios culturales en el sur de Africa actual. Los debates sobre Indigenidad y el uso de lugares heredados en Botswana y el sur de Africa sugieren que los arqueólogos y los practicantes todavia están involucrados en la escritura del pasado particularmente en cómo el pasado es presentado para el consumo del público. Este discurso necesita ser contextualizado dentro los estudios globales sobre los indígenas y otras arqueologías. Los arqueólogos africanos pueden compartir sus experiencias en cómo las economías políticas cambiantes de los lugares donde ellos trabajan impactan en el acceso del público al pasado. De la misma manera, el mundo arqueológico consciente de algunos de los desafíos que sus practicantes y el público en Africa pueden vigilar por la protección de su herencia y ciudadanía para el futuro de tal manera que se pueda mantener aspiraciones más amplias en un mundo arqueológico integro.

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Résumé L'héritage culturel du sud de l'Afrique donne des exemples évoquant comment la discordance sur le patrimoine et sa gestion peuvent refléter des tensions systématiques sur la fa?on dont l'identité est construite. De pareils conflits peuvent être, en partie, attribués à la fa?on par laquelle le passé a été construit dans une société. Certains lègues des revendications contestataires sur les ressources, en particulier celles des terres, sont évidents dans les conflits contemporains avec l'identification, la valeur et l'utilisation du paysage culturel aujourd'hui dans le sud de l'Afrique. Les débats autour de “l'autochtonéité” et de l'utilisation des lieux patrimoniaux au Botswana et au sud de l'Afrique suggèrent que les archéologues et les spécialistes du patrimoine doivent encore s'engager avec l'écriture sur le passé et en particulier sur comment le passé est conditionné pour la consommation publique. Ce discours doit être contextualisé dans des discours globaux sur les autochtones et les autres archéologies. Les archéologues africains peuvent partager leur expérience sur comment le changement économique et politique du lieu où ils travaillent, influe l'accès public au passé. Dans le même ordre d'idées, une archéologie mondiale consciente de certains défis auxquels font face les professionnels et le publique en Afrique peut permettre une vigilance dans la protection future du patrimoine et des communautés respectant ainsi les vastes aspirations d'une archéologie mondiale intègre.

     

The reproduction of heritage in a Chinese village: whose heritage,whose pasts?

The study investigates heritage practices in a Chinese village, by describing the tensions that have played out among different voices, meanings and understandings centred on the village’s heritage. In the process of ‘heritageisation’, stakeholders that include the state, the local government, the villagers and the principal lineage strive to negotiate different cultural meanings, values and the traditions. Consequently, three different heritage discourses coexist alongside each other in one locality. On the one hand, the ‘authorised heritage discourse’ is taken up by the government to weave and frame a narrative of nation-building around a Memorial Park. On the other hand, the village uses the past to foster local identity of the place in an attempt to attract tourists. For its part, the major lineage in the village uses the ancestral hall to continue the long tradition of remembering their ancestors via worshiping ceremonies. In between are a medley of heritage sites and artefacts existing in a state of flux and struggle over their conservation. The authors contend that, no matter how mundane, grand or hybrid, assemblages of rich and locally meaningful heritage, such as depicted in this article, should be cherished and utilised for the present agenda of cultural construction in rural China.     

Migrating heritage? Recreating ancestral and new homeland heritage in the practices of immigrant minorities

ABSTRACT

This paper problematises the engagement with heritage of immigrants and their new-homeland-born children, bringing together heritage and migration studies. It discusses the use of ancestral heritage in group identity maintenance strategies, and sheds light on minorities’ participation in the heritage of the dominant population. The paper investigates how the ancestral heritage of immigrant minorities has adjusted to the circumstances of the new homeland, and how the elements of heritage of the dominant population were fitted within the festivity routines of minority families. Therefore, it attempts to grasp the transformations of heritage occurring as a consequence of adjusting heritage practices to the new settings. To do so, it employs a notion of ‘heritage in becoming’ that refers to the situational and processual character of recreating inherited practices within the circumstances of the present. The paper proves that the boundary between minority and majority culture in the heritage practices of individuals is blurred, discussing the transformations the traditional heritages of nations undergo under the influence of migration. The author attempts to answer the question of whether these new qualities can be accepted as part of a so-called multicultural heritage of nations.