Cultural heritage ("national heritage" or just "heritage") is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Often though, what is considered cultural heritage by one generation may be rejected by the next generation, only to be revived by a succeeding generation. A cultural artifact is an man-made object which gives information about the culture of its creator and users. ... Human relationships within an ethnically diverse society. ...

Physical or "tangible cultural heritage" includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., that are considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture. "Natural heritage" is also an important part of a culture, encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna. These kind of heritage sites often serve as an important component in a country's tourist industry, attracting many visitors from abroad as well as locally. For other uses, see Building (disambiguation). ... The Taj Mahal, commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his wife, Arjumand Banu Begum. ... Rural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. ... In Botany a Flora (or Floræ) is a collective term for plant life and can also refer to a descriptive catalogue of the plants of any geographical area, geological period, etc. ... Fauna is a collective term for animal life. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ...

The heritage that survives from the past is often unique and irreplaceable, which places the responsibility of preservation on the current generation. Smaller objects such as artworks and other cultural masterpieces are collected in museums and art galleries. Grass roots organizations and political groups have been successful at gaining the necessary support to preserve the heritage of many nations for the future. Look up Collection on Wiktionary, the free dictionary In common usage, a collection is any group of items that has one or more properties in common, usually brought together for some specific purpose. ... The National Gallery in London, a famous museum. ... The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. ... Grassroots democracy is the political processes which are driven by groups of ordinary citizens, as opposed to larger organisations or wealthy individuals with concentrated vested interests in particular policies. ...

A broader definition includes intangible aspects of a particular culture, often maintained by social customs during a specific period in history. The ways and means of behavior in a society, and the often formal rules for operating in a particular cultural climate. These include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human activity. The significance of physical artifacts can be interpreted against the backdrop of socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious and philosophical values of a particular group of people. Naturally, intangible cultural heritage is more difficult to preserve than physical objects. The word tradition, comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ... Custom has a number of meanings: A custom is a common practice among a group of people, especially depending on country, culture, time, and religion. ... A practice refers to a way that something is done. ... Aesthetics (or esthetics) (from the Greek word αισθητική) is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... Expression may refer to: (in the vernacular) the act or particular way of expressing something (including an emotion through a facial expression or configuration) (in mathematics) a mathematical expression (in computing) a programming language expression (in computing) a vector graphics software Microsoft Expression (in genetics) the effect produced by a...

See also

• Collecting
• Conservation
• Cultural Heritage Management
• English Heritage
• Ethnobotany
• Folklore
• Heritage tourism
• Historic Preservation
• Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
• Museology
• National Register of Historic Places
• Preservation
• Virtual Heritage
• World Heritage Sites

// The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector. ... Conservation is the profession devoted to the preservation of cultural property for the future. ... Cultural resources management (CRM) is a branch of archaeology concerned with the identification, maintenance, and preservation of significant cultural sites in the face of threat. ... English Heritage is a United Kingdom government body with a broad remit of managing the historic environment of England. ... Ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between plants and people: Fromethno - study of people and botany - study of plants. ... Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. ... Heritage tourism involves visiting historical or industrial sites that may include old canals, railways, battlegrounds, etc. ... It has been suggested that Cultural heritage be merged into this article or section. ... Map showing the Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage by country designation as of 2005: red (countries with 4 designations), orange (3), yellow (2) and green (1). ... Museology (also called museum studies) is the study of how to organize and manage museums and museum collections. ... The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ... Preservation is a broad term, applying in several areas where items are preserved or conserved in some manner. ... Virtual heritage is a term used to describe works dealing with information and communication technologies (ICT) and cultural heritage. ... Site #86: Memphis and its Necropolis, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt). ...

External links

• Cultural heritage search engine
• Cultural routes and landscapes, a common heritage of Europe (English and French language)
• EPOCH – European Research Network on Excellence in Processing Open Cultural Heritage
• Mediterraneum. Protection, consevation and valorization of cultural and environmental property (English, Franch, Spanish and Italian language)
• National Register of Historic Places Travel itineraries in the U.S.
• Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony (English and Italian language)
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Official website
• Cultural heritage information from UNESCO