Social Values and Archaeological Heritage: An Ethnographic Study of the Daming Palace Archaeological Site (China)

Abstract

In recent years, it is progressively believed that heritage itself does not have values, but rather values are assigned to places of heritage by people. The evolution of how heritage values should be considered has deeply influenced practices and policies of archaeological sites. Social value is now increasingly emphasized in legislation and guidelines for heritage management. In China, as with many countries, the development of tourism and the influence of UNESCO World Heritage nomination have remarkably changed the relationship between archaeological heritage and local communities. Therefore, they have also reshaped the social values ascribed to heritage by communal groups. Using the Daming Palace archaeological site as a case study, this article employs ethnographic approaches to scrutinize the impact of archaeological tourism and World Heritage designation on the social values attributed to the site by its local communities.