Learning to accept heritage loss may strengthen cultural resilience, argues paper
In short: Challenging the common assumption that heritage must be preserved at all costs to protect communities from conflict and disaster, a theoretical paper argues that cultural resilience actually grows from accepting that heritage sites change and sometimes get lost. The author suggests that seeing monuments transform or vanish over time can help people practice absorbing uncertainty and adapting to disruption.
This pushes back against the popular idea that heritage sites are purely fragile assets needing protection to secure peace and reduce disaster risk, proposing instead that embracing change itself builds resilience and mutual understanding.
The argument is a theoretical one, drawn from archaeological and heritage perspectives rather than new fieldwork or data, so it offers a conceptual case rather than direct evidence of resilience outcomes.
Why it matters: Accepting that heritage changes or is lost may be a more realistic route to resilience than trying to preserve everything perfectly.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Holtorf (2018). Embracing change: how cultural resilience is increased through cultural heritage. World Archaeology. · cc-by-nc-nd
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