Why HISTORY?

needis HERITAGE?
What

Why CONSERVE HERITAGE?

 the whole series of past events connected with a particular person or thing
….as it is described in written documents
Events occurring before written record are considered prehistory
 Relates to past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization,
presentation, and interpretation of information about these events
sequence of past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and
effect that determine them.
In most countries history textbook are tools to foster nationalism and patriotism,
and give students the official line about national enemies
HOW AUTHENTIC IS HISTORY?

Architectural Conservation -
UNDERSTANDING HERITAGE UNIT 1
WHY HISTORY
need
https://ed.ted.com/on/6KsZvQtk

•History allows us to 'think' about the greatest question humanity has ever
asked.....WHY? Finish the question anyway you want!
•History helps us understand people and societies and thus respect all
cultures as well as fellow beings
•History helps us understand change and how the society we live in came
to be and thus it makes us aware of that fact that we must be open to
anything and everything that might await us.
•Important to learn history to not make bad history repeat itself- thus it
carries itself into our present and future
•History has lots of inspiring characters and full of inspirations that can
affect our present and future
•History is a great repository for TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS

Architectural Conservation -
UNDERSTANDING HERITAGE UNIT 1
 HERITAGE
• ‘property that is or may be inherited; ‘valued things that have been passed down from
previous generations’, and ‘relating to things of historic or cultural value that are worthy
of preservation’.

• Architectural Heritage encompasses ruins, archeological sites, monuments, palaces,

castles, vernacular buildings, group of monuments, buildings or ensembles, settlements
and urban areas and also includes natural heritage and areas of landscape importance

• culture is the social behavior and norms, set of customs, traditions, and values
of a society or community
• Culture is who we are and what shapes our identity….
• Culture is the set of knowledge acquired over time.
• Culture is a way of life….

Architectural Conservation -
UNDERSTANDING HERITAGE UNIT 1
 Types of Cultural Heritage
*Cultural Heritage *Natural Heritage
*Tangible Heritage *Intangible Heritage
* Movable Heritage *Immovable Heritage
Cultural Heritage is thus all what we have inherited through the traditional way of life
Natural heritage: natural sites with cultural aspects such as cultural landscapes, physical,
biological or geological formations
Tangible heritage
includes all those types of heritage that can not only be experienced, but can also be
touched and felt. It is the physical product of a culture that can be seen as an existing entity.
Intangible heritage
includes all those types of heritage that can only be experienced, but not touched physically.
They only exist as a practice or custom that has been followed for a long period of time and
there exists no physical manifestations of these

Architectural Conservation -
TYPES OF HERITAGE UNIT 1
Architectural Conservation -
TYPES OF HERITAGE UNIT 1
Movable heritage includes those kinds of heritage that can be transferred from its original
place of occurrence/finding/existence/location. They include paintings (excludes - murals and
other monument specifics), sculptures etc.
it also comprises ancient jewellery discovered on archaeological sites, grave-goods, sacred
art in temples and other religious buildings, sculpted stone from historic monuments, all
kinds of works of art that are ancient or still in the hands of their creators, or in the market
or in private collections.

Immovable heritage includes those, that cannot be moved from their location or site of
occurrence. Historic buildings are the best examples.

Underwater cultural heritage: (shipwrecks, underwater ruins and cities)

In 2002 during the United Nations year for cultural heritage, UNESCO produced a list
of ‘types’ of cultural heritage (UNESCO, n.d.)

• cultural heritage sites (including archaeological sites, ruins, historic buildings)

• historic cities (urban landscapes and their constituent parts as well as ruined cities)
• cultural landscapes (including parks, gardens and other ‘modified’ landscapes such as
pastoral lands and farms)
• natural sacred sites (places that people revere or hold important but that have no evidence
of human modification, for example sacred mountains)
• underwater cultural heritage (for example shipwrecks)
Architectural Conservation -
TYPES OF HERITAGE UNIT 1
• museums (including cultural museums, art galleries and house museums)
• movable cultural heritage (objects as diverse as paintings, tractors, stone tools and
cameras – this category covers any form of object that is movable and that is outside
of an archaeological context)
• handicrafts
• documentary and digital heritage (the archives and objects deposited in libraries,
including digital archives)
• cinematographic heritage (movies and the ideas they convey)
• oral traditions (stories, histories and traditions that are not written but passed from
generation to generation)
• languages
• festive events (festivals and carnivals and the traditions they embody)
• rites and beliefs (rituals, traditions and religious beliefs)
• music and song
• the performing arts (theatre, drama, dance and music)
• traditional medicine
• literature
• culinary traditions
• traditional sports and games

Architectural Conservation -
TYPES OF HERITAGE UNIT 1
 NEED FOR CONSERVATION??
1. A SENSE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY & BELONGING
2. PROVIDE EVIDENCES / ACCOUNTS OF HISTORIC EVENTS & LIFESTYLE ,
CULTURE – HISTORIC DOCUMENT
3. TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM
4. TO SHOWCASE OUR ARCHITECTURAL/ CULTURAL WEALTH TO VISITORS –
stimulate national & international tourism-boosts local employment and holds
economical value
5. Environmental & Economical sense to use what is already there rather than
waste precious resources
6. Evokes a sense of nostalgia for the past period
7. Economic or prestige value in owning a historic property

Architectural Conservation -
Need for Conservation UNIT 1
“A Cultural Resource in its broadest sense contains all the signs that document the
activities and achievements of human beings over time “(WHC) , and may include historic
buildings, structures, sites, city/town/settlements, historic/traditional villages, groups of
buildings, historic gardens, traditional housing, archaeological parks and cultural
landscapes (tangible aspects) and the other aspects like tradition & customs (intangible
aspects)

Conservation generally means all processes of looking after a cultural resource so

as to retain its cultural significance. It includes maintenance and according to
circumstances may include consolidation , repair, preservation, reconstruction,
and adaptive reuse. Most commonly a combination of some or all of the above.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE &VALUES ?

Architectural Conservation -
DEFENITIONS UNIT 1