CULTURAL HERITAGE: DEFINITION, CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The cultural heritage is the tangible and intangible heritage of a people or community that has been legacy to be preserved and passed on to subsequent generations. It includes beliefs, knowledge, artistic expressions, norms and values, social practices, traditions and customs, places, objects and any other expression of culture.

Through cultural heritage, the historical process of formation and life of a people is expressed and represented, because it is the visible and tangible synthesis of the elements that characterize it.

The heritage or cultural heritage reproduces elements associated with the way of life, the value system, the beliefs and the traditions of a people.

Through this legacy the regional or national identity and the sense of belonging to a people are reinforced. Since it is the product and expression of human creativity, cultural heritage is transmitted, recreated and modified. It is passed from generation to generation and can be destroyed if its cultural and historical value is not appreciated and preserved.

Definition and concept

Cultural heritage is the set of physical elements and intangible attributes that represent a people or society, which have been acquired through social inheritance from the ancestors. This heritage includes tangible cultural elements represented in buildings and monuments, objects and works of art.

These elements are also represented in books and other literary creations, musical instruments, costumes, gastronomy, etc. Likewise, there are elements of an intangible nature, such as folklore, traditions, language and knowledge of different genres.

Cultural heritage is an asset that has value for the peoples; for this reason it is a heritage that is appreciated, preserved and transmitted.

Classification

Cultural heritage or cultural heritage is classified as:

Tangible or material cultural heritage

It is made up of all the movable and immovable property made by the ancestors of a people.

Movable property

They are composed of paintings, books, manuscripts, sculptures, coins, manuscript costumes, etc.

Property

They encompass historical sites (churches, pantheons and tombs, monuments) and archaeological sites.

Underwater cultural heritage

In this category are the submerged cities and the ruins of civilizations, along with the remains of shipwrecks and everything that is underwater and has a cultural or historical value.

Intangible and intangible cultural heritage

This type of inheritance constitutes the intellectual patrimony of a people and gives it its social physiognomy, making it unique. Here traditions, literature, gastronomy, scientific and architectural knowledge, philosophy, music, dance, religion, rituals and patterns of social behavior are represented.

It contains the knowledge, traditions and beliefs (legends, sayings, stories) of a community, which are a set of knowledge and everyday ways of life. Through cultural heritage, ways of thinking and being that have been transmitted orally or in writing are evoked.

Popular and traditional celebrations are also part of the cultural heritage and include dance, music, theater and other manifestations, added to the popular knowledge that is expressed through crafts, gastronomy and other expressions.

This category includes the symbolic places of a town: fairs, markets, squares and other spaces where there is a manifestation of unique social practices.

characteristics

- It has a social character; that is, it is done by and for society. It is appreciated and enjoyed by the community.

- Its importance does not lie only in the cultural manifestation itself, but in the historical heritage value that it contains. The knowledge and techniques that are transmitted through it are very valuable.

- It is traditional and contemporary at the same time. Shows distinctive or peculiar features of a specific society.

- It is original and has the ability to modify or recreate itself based on its own characteristics, along with the rhythm of the community's cultural evolution. Therefore, an ancestral rite can be a living heritage recreated at any time.

- Due to its didactic nature, cultural heritage must serve the purpose of teaching and learning about the past of a community.

- It serves as an integrating element and contributes to reinforcing cultural identity.

- It is representative, is transmitted from one generation to another and is based on the social activity of that community.

- Cultural heritage can be destroyed if its historical-cultural value and meaning is not preserved so that it lasts over time, whether it is a monument or a tradition.

Examples of cultural heritage in Latin America

The dancing devils of Yare, Venezuela

It is a religious festival that is celebrated during Corpus Christi in the town of San Francisco de Yare, Miranda state, Venezuela. Its organization and execution corresponds to the Sociedades del Santísimo, which is the oldest brotherhood in the entire American continent. Its origin dates back to about 300 years old.

The dancing devils of Yare were declared by UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.

Cartagena Colombia

In the city of Cartagena there is a set of fortifications that contain the cathedral, castles and Andalusian-style palaces, as well as old colonial houses.

During the viceroyalty of Santafé, it was one of the most important cities in South America. All the precious metals that were going to Spain passed through there.

Palenque City and National Park, Mexico

This pre-Hispanic city is located in the state of Chiapas and is part of the Palenque National Park. In this archaeological zone one of the most sacred sites of the Mayan culture is kept.

90% of its territory remains unexplored and in this you can see pyramids, stone sculptures and hieroglyphs. It is one of the best preserved ruins in Mexico and the world. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Tikal National Park, Guatemala

They are dazzling Mayan ruins made up of some 3,000 structures, including palaces, temples and altars and temples. They are in the heart of the Petén jungle and were discovered in 1848.

It is the largest archaeological site in America excavated so far. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1979.

Rituals of the jaguar shamans of Yuruparí

The shamans of Yuruparí represent the ethnic heritage of the peoples who settled on the bank of the Pirá Parana River, located in the southeast of Colombia. They have a rich and diverse calendar of ceremonial rituals.

These rituals include the healing of the sick, the prevention of diseases and the revitalization of nature, among others. Their dances and songs are part of the ritual with which they manage to create a unique atmosphere. They were inscribed as Intangible Heritage by UNESCO in 2011.

Cave of the hands, Argentina

It was made by the ancestors of the Argentines in Patagonia. In this cave, one of the oldest artistic manifestations of the pre-Hispanic peoples of South America is represented. Here lived hunter-gatherer peoples who lived between 13,000 and 9,500 years ago.

The cave exhibits hands, geometric figures, feline figures, and hunting scenes painted with mineral pigments. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.

References

1. Intangible Heritage. Consulted of unesco.org
2. Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Living Culture of Peoples. Consulted of academic.oup.com
3. Basic characteristics of a cultural heritage asset. Consulted of Patrimoniointeligente.com
4. Intangible cultural heritage in Latin America and The Carribbean (PDF). Consulted of unesdoc.unesco.org
5. Cultural heritage. Consulted of ecured.cu
6. Cultural heritage in Latin America. Consulted of aarp.org
7. What is intangible cultural heritage? Consulted of ich.unesco.org
8. Tangible and intangible heritage. Consulted of sc.jalisco.gob.mx
9. The 9 intangible heritages that Colombia gives to humanity. Consulted of matadornetwork.com