WHAT IS TANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The tangible cultural heritage consists of monuments, buildings, archaeological sites, historic buildings, and "natural" elements such as trees, caves, lakes, mountains and others.

Tangible also includes works of art, objects of archaeological interest and objects of daily life, such as utensils, clothes and other cultural objects.

Pyramids of Giza, Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, an example of tangible cultural heritage

Tangible movable heritage

On the one hand, there is the tangible movable heritage, which includes archaeological, historical, artistic, ethnographic, technological, religious objects and those of artisan or folk origin that constitute important collections for science, art history and the conservation of cultural diversity. from the country.

These include works of art, handwritten books, documents, historical artifacts, recordings, photographs, films, audiovisual documents, handicrafts and other objects of an archaeological, historical, scientific and artistic nature.

An example of movable tangible cultural heritage is the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa or Mona Lisa.

Tangible real estate heritage

On the other hand, there is the tangible immovable heritage, which is made up of the places, sites, buildings, engineering works, industrial centers, architectural complexes, typical areas and monuments of interest or relevant value from the architectural, archaeological, and historical point of view., artistic or scientific, recognized and registered as such.

These immovable cultural property are human works or productions that cannot be transferred from one place to another, either because they are structures (for example, a building), or because they are inseparable from the terrain (for example, an archaeological site).

Examples of this type of tangible immovable heritage are the pyramids of Egypt.

The phenomena present in these properties are considered testimonies of the development of the different cultural manifestations, movements or styles present in human history.

Tangible and intangible

Tangible is everything that can be touched because it is material, while intangible is the opposite, that is, what is not material, so it cannot be touched.

For example, a poem or a song is intangible. A cathedral is tangible.

Cultural heritage is made up of two types: tangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage.

Heritage term

The concept of tangible cultural heritage comes from the term heritage, which refers to the set of natural and cultural elements that occupy a territory.

However, from a broad point of view, heritage is also understood to be the assets and rights that individuals have access to as members of a community.

For example, heritage is often referred to as inheritance due to belonging to a family. But there are also "heritages" to which individuals have access as members of larger communities, such as regional and / or national heritages.

Therefore, if the concept of heritage includes elements, goods or rights of a different nature then there are economic, social, cultural heritages…

What does cultural heritage comprise?

In the case of cultural heritage, UNESCO defines it as the set of works of the artists, architects, musicians, writers and wise men of a people or community.

These cultural products include anonymous creations and values ​​that give meaning to life, that is, material and non-material goods where the creation of the inhabitants of that town or community is manifested.

Examples of these cultural assets are language, rituals, beliefs, historical places and monuments, literature, works of art, and archives and libraries.

In short, cultural heritage is the set of assets of considerable value accumulated by a society throughout its existence. Assets that must be protected, disseminated and preserved as an expression of their own culture, or what is the same, as an expression of the cultural identity of a locality.