Introduction : considering cultural resource management in modern society
What are cultural resources?
We began assembling this collection of chapters with a working title for the volume of Archaeological Heritage Management in Modern Society. After some thought and discussion, in part spurred by David Lowenthal’s Possessed by the Past (1996) , we backed away from using heritage in the title. Lowenthal’s principal point in his volume is to distinguish between the real remains and well-reasoned, documented interpretations of past actions and events, which he equates with history, and careless, popularized physical reconstructions and accounts of history, which he use the word heritage to define. Lowenthal’s concerns in drawing this distinction and considering it at length are with authenticity, accuracy and legitimacy. The principle, or espoused value, of authenticity, accuracy and legitimacy. The principle, or espoused value, of authenticity drives much of the activity from the constituent parts of the contemporary heritage industry (Hewison 1987)