Nature of Cultural Heritage, and the Culture of Natural Heritage

Taylor & Francis

The Nature of Cultural Heritage, and the Culture of Natural HeritageAuthor(s): David Lowenthal, Kenneth Olwig\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781138976825, 978-1138976825\nSynopsis\nThe idea that the heritage of nature is fundamentally cultural is provocative to many, but it is becoming increasingly accepted in the context of heritage preservation. It is argued here that a persons perspective on natural vs. cultural heritage as a contested patrimony is, to some extent, governed by ones intellectual and geographical position. In discourses influenced by the natural sciences culture is a heritage of nature, whereas in those deriving from the humanities and social sciences, nature is defined socio-culturally. \n\nThere is also, however, a geographical dimension to how one looks at the nature culture relation. From at least the time of Aristotle, the North has been identified with a cultural heritage thought to derive.