Assessing the Local, National, and Transnational Values of Honduran Heritage

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Mortensen
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Cultural Patrimony ◽  
The Past ◽  
Government Authority ◽  
Operation And Management

In Honduras, as in many countries, the archaeological past is considered part of the national cultural heritage. It is legally defined as national patrimony and is, therefore, under the care and protection of the state. Yet the financial and intellectual resources for managing cultural patrimony in Honduras are far outstripped by the number and complexity of sites that require attention. As a result, for decades, most research on archaeological heritage has been carried out by foreign nationals working in conjunction with the established government authority, the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History (IHAH). Increasingly, foreign nationals are being called upon to move beyond their specialized research interests and assist more directly in the operation and management of archaeological resources. This requires a shift from thinking about "archaeological" resources in a narrow sense, to thinking about "heritage" resources in a broader sense. It also implies a much more complex working environment where different value systems that ascribe meaning to so-called "heritage resources" make it difficult to distinguish a clear sense of responsibilities and priorities. Simply negotiating the terrain between local level concerns and more specialized research interests is challenging enough. But as archaeological sites and places that are publicly recognized as "heritage" increasingly become arenas for conflict among competing interests and uses, it becomes ever more important to understand the basic frameworks that generate meaning and value out of the past.

scholarly journals Some Notes on Maintaining Authenticity in the Presentation of Archaeological Sites in Bulgaria

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milena Kamenova ◽  
Lyudmil Vagalinski
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current State ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The One ◽  
Scientific Value

We present the challenges facing Bulgarian experts in finding the balance between preserving the authenticity of archaeological structures and their context, and turning them into a comprehensible and attractive visitor site. Thanks to European funding over the past ten years, a number of projects have been implemented in Bulgaria for conservation, restoration, exhibition and public presentation of archaeological heritage, where the main aim is to achieve a complete visitor product. The economic and social effect, on the one hand, has a positive impact as an inspiration for archaeological research and the popularisation of this type of cultural heritage, but has led to a compromise of the scientific value at some sites. We note some examples to illustrate the combined role of experts, participants and stakeholders in their 'reading' and 'translating' the archaeology – seeking to generate interest, clarify and convey the experience of 'genius loci'. The role of the state in the management of archaeological heritage is examined through its different governmental levels and interaction. The requirements imposed by legislation and practice are also observed. First, the development of the archaeological heritage conservation system in Bulgaria will be briefly reviewed, its current state of the processes, its actors and the interactions between them, the positive and the negative aspects, and, in more detail, the problems we face in preserving authenticity while turning the archaeological site into an attractive one. Then we focus on our main topic; the authenticity and the attractiveness of archaeological sites in Bulgaria.

Bringing the Past to a Living Room Near You

2020 ◽  
pp. 332-334
Author(s):  
Oya Topçuoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Living Room ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Urban Group ◽  
The Past ◽  
Heritage Collections

Museum shops everywhere sell merchandise inspired by artifacts in museum collections. But to access this merchandise one must visit the museum itself or its website. What if people encountered elegant objects exquisitely decorated with imagery from world-renowned artifacts and archaeological sites from their own lands when they went shopping for teacups or salad bowls? Would it enhance their understanding, change their perception, or increase their interest in their country’s past? This chapter explores the use of archaeological heritage in Turkey in the creation of the “Anatolian Civilizations” and “World Heritage” collections by Paşabahçe, Turkey’s first and the world’s third largest producer of glassware. Embodying the company’s mission to “preserve Anatolia’s cultural heritage for future generations,” these collections of decorative objects representing canonical artifacts and ancient sites from Anatolia aim to introduce the region’s archaeological heritage to a wider audience. However, produced in limited editions with price tags between $75 and $350, they are within the reach of only a small, educated, urban group.

scholarly journals Affad 3.0/Cattle+. Field seasons 2017 and 2018 of the PalaeoAffad Project

2019 ◽  
pp. 239-250
Author(s):  
Marta Oypińska ◽  
Piotr Osypiński ◽  
Marek Chłodnicki ◽  
Michał Kuc ◽  
Paweł Wiktorowicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Power Lines ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hydroelectric Power Station ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Power Station ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
The Past ◽  
Asphalt Road ◽  
The One

The first Affad was the one we saw when the archaeological sites there were first investigated at the beginning of the century. The second Affad, which is the region that we have been exploring in the past 15 years, bore many signs of modern Sudanese culture encroaching upon the desert. In 2009, an asphalt road cut through the desert and shortly thereafter, the Debba bridge and power lines were constructed, the latter coming from a hydroelectric power station on the Fourth Cataract. Affad 3.0 is what the location looks like today—extensive industrial-scale farms on terraces too far away for traditional agriculture. The investment has already caused irreversible destruction to the archaeological heritage. Cattle+ in the title of this article refers to new data on large ruminants. The discovery of auroch remains and the Neolithic cattle data are both extremely important proxies for the adaptation strategies of people inhabiting the Southern Dongola Reach in prehistory.

Looting and the Antiquities Market

Classics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patty Gerstenblith ◽  
Corinne R. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Art Market ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Contextual Knowledge ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
The Past ◽  
Unesco Convention ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts

The looting of archaeological sites became a significant problem after the Second World War. Archaeological sites had been exploited from the 18th century with varying degrees of emphasis on scientific recovery of artifacts. However, demand created by the postwar growth of the international art market provided an impetus to supply more archaeological artifacts for the market, often through looting of sites, just as advances in scientific methodologies expanded the amount of contextual knowledge that could be recovered about the past through controlled excavation. As the losses inflicted on our ability to reconstruct all facets of the past became better understood, legal mechanisms developed to deter the trade in undocumented archaeological artifacts and the looting of archaeological sites. These legal mechanisms crystallized around the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The 1970 UNESCO Convention fostered a series of national actions, including ratification and implementation of the convention through domestic legislation. In the early 2000s, several market nations ratified the 1970 convention, ushering in an era in which this convention has served as the basic international legal instrument that attempts to curtail the trade in illegally obtained antiquities. The study of the trade in looted antiquities is prevalent in several disciplines, in addition to legal studies. Ethnographers and anthropologists study the mechanisms of the trade from the looting of the object from the ground to the desires of museums and private collectors to acquire such objects. Criminologists study the motivations of the criminal actors and the best methods for deterring criminal activity. Ethicists explore the ethical dimensions of acquisitions of undocumented archaeological artifacts, particularly by public institutions, and the morality of restitution. Economists theorize about ways that archaeological heritage can become an economically sustainable resource for local populations, thereby reducing the motivation to loot sites. Finally, the international restitution of looted archaeological objects has become a central issue in cultural diplomacy among nations and in relationships among the world’s museums and educational institutions. The contemporary trade in undocumented artifacts is not entirely divorced from the historical scourge brought about through armed conflict and military occupation. The looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad during the 2003 Gulf War, followed by the large-scale looting of sites throughout southern Iraq, the looting of sites in Syria and Egypt during the ongoing conflicts to obtain funds, and the dismemberment of Khmer temples in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge period all attest to the pervasive nature of looting to supply archaeological artifacts for sale on the international art market.

A LOOK INTO THE EARTH: EVALUATING THE USE OF MAGNETIC SURVEY IN AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Magnavita ◽  
Norbert Schleifer
Keyword(s):  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Magnetic Survey ◽  
The Past ◽  
Common Technique ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Prehistoric Settlements ◽  
Present Case Study

In the last decades, geophysical methods such as magnetic survey have become a common technique for prospecting archaeological sites. At sub-Saharan archaeological sites, however, magnetic survey and correlated techniques never came into broad use and there are no signs for an immediate change of this situation. This paper examines the magnetic survey undertaken on the Nigerian site of Zilum, a settlement of the Gajiganna Culture (ca 1800-400 BC) located in the Chad Basin and dated to ca 600-400 BC. By means of the present case study, we demonstrate the significance of this particular type of investigation in yielding complementary data for understanding the character of prehistoric settlements. In conclusion, we point out that geophysical methods should play a more important role in modern archaeological field research, as they furnish a class of documentation not achievable by traditional survey and excavation methods, thus creating new perspectives for interpreting the past of African societies.

Toward Unity among Environmentalists

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan G. Norton
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Special Interests ◽  
Unified Approach ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Control Growth

Today, six out of ten Americans describe themselves as "active" environmentalists or as "sympathetic" to the movement's concerns. The movement, in turn, reflects this millions-strong support in its diversity, encompassing a wide spectrum of causes, groups, and sometimes conflicting special interests. For far-sighted activists and policy makers, the question is how this diversity affects the ability to achieve key goals in the battle against pollution, erosion, and out-of-control growth. This insightful book offers an overview of the movement -- its past as well as its present -- and issues the most persuasive call yet for a unified approach to solving environmental problems. Focusing on examples from resource use, pollution control, protection of species and habitats, and land use, the author shows how the dynamics of diversity have actually hindered environmentalists in the past, but also how a convergence of these interests around forward-looking policies can be effected, despite variance in value systems espoused. The book is thus not only an assessment of today's movement, but a blueprint for action that can help pull together many different concerns under a common banner. Anyone interested in environmental issues and active approaches to their solution will find the author's observations both astute and creative.

scholarly journals SyPEAH: The WebAPP System for Protection and Education to Archaeological Heritage in the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Irma Della Giovampaola
Keyword(s):  
Central Area ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Dynamic Monitoring ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Preventive Conservation ◽  
Innovative Technologies ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Degradation Monitoring ◽  
Deterioration Process

Archaeological sites are affected by changes due to a natural deterioration process over time. If not prevented, this may compromise the functionality of the cultural property, and in turn become pathological and result in degradation. Monitoring through innovative technologies paves the way towards an effective planned maintenance activity and therefore preventive conservation. The monitoring project of the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo was inspired by the desire to build a system of protection and conservation at the service of sustainable exploitation. Established by Ministerial Decree 12 January 2017 in art. 3, the park is an independent cultural site of the Ministry of Culture. It includes the central area of Rome—the Roman Forum, the Palatine, the Colosseum and the Domus Aurea—and has an extension of about 77 hectares, of which about 32 are buildings. With these objectives, the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo has launched a static and dynamic monitoring project consisting of six fundamental levels of activities. The project involves the creation of a multi-parameter system of permanent control of the entire archaeological area, with the associated indicators of the level of risk, for which it is necessary the combined use of innovative technologies.

scholarly journals Assessing the Prospects of Transboundary Multihazard Dynamics: The Case of Bhotekoshi—Sunkoshi Watershed in Sino—Nepal Border Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3670
Author(s):  
Suraj Lamichhane ◽  
Komal Raj Aryal ◽  
Rocky Talchabhadel ◽  
Bhesh Raj Thapa ◽  
Rabindra Adhikari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Multiple Hazards ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transboundary Watersheds ◽  
Underlying Causes

The impacts of multihazards have become more pronounced over the past few decades globally. Multiple hazards and their cascading impacts claim enormous losses of lives, livelihoods, and built environment. This paradigm prompts integrated and multidisciplinary perspectives to identify, characterize, and assess the occurrence of multihazards and subsequently design countermeasures considering impending multihazard scenarios at the local level. To this end, we considered one of the most egregious transboundary watersheds, which is regarded as a multihazard hotspot of Nepal, to analyze the underlying causes and cascade scenarios of multihazards, and their associated impacts. In this paper, geophysical, hydrometeorological, and socioeconomic perspectives are formulated to characterize the watershed from the dimension of susceptibility to multihazard occurrence. To characterize the complex dynamics of transboundary multihazard occurrence, insights have been presented from both the Nepali and the Chinese sides. Individual case studies and the interrelation matrix between various natural hazards are also presented so as to depict multihazard consequences in the transboundary region. The sum of the observations highlights that the watershed is highly vulnerable to a single as well as multiple natural hazards that often switch to disasters.

Quantifying the threat to archaeological sites from the erosion of cultivated soil

Antiquity ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (309) ◽  
pp. 658-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Wilkinson ◽  
Andrew Tyler ◽  
Donald Davidson ◽  
Ian Grieve
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Site Formation ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Site Formation Processes ◽  
Formation Processes ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nuclear Weapons Testing ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Soil Movements

Ploughing is probably the greatest agent of attrition to archaeological sites world-wide. In every country, every year, a bit more is shaved off buried strata and a bit more of the past becomes unreadable. On the other hand, people must eat and crops must be planted. How can the fields be best managed to get the best of both worlds? Perhaps the most pressing need for resource managers is to know how quickly a particular field is eroding: negotiation and protection is then possible. Up to now that has been difficult to measure.The new procedure presented here, which draws on the unexpected benefits of nuclear weapons testing, shows how variation in the concentration of the radioisotope 137Cs can be used to monitor soil movements over the last 40 years. The measurements allow a site's ‘life expectancy’ to be calculated, and there are some promising dividends for tracking site formation processes.

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