Kim and Zoh bring together a team of contributors to analyse the role of heritage studies across Asia, and its impact on Asia and its constituent countries.
Is there such a thing as ‘Asian heritage’? Is it more helpful to understand Asia as a single unit, or as a set of sub- regions? What can we learn about Asia’s present through its archaeology and heritage? Covering a wide range of countries, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, the contributors to this book address these key questions. In doing so they look at a number of critical issues, such as UNESCO World Heritage status, cultural propaganda, cultural erasure and difficult heritage. While addressing Asia’s past they also observe key issues within present- day Asia, further providing conceptual and practical insights into the methods that are being applied to the study of Asia’s heritage today.
A valuable resource for scholars and students of Asian history and culture, archaeology, heritage studies, anthropology and religious studies.
Part One: Examining Asia’s Heritage in the Contemporary World – Key Notions 1. Introduction 2. Asia’s Heritage Trend: Underpinning the Existing Components and Perspectives 3. Heritage Values in Comparative Perspective 4. An Observation of Asia’s Sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List through Data Analysis of the Criteria for Selection Part Two: Critical and Specific Issues in Asia’s Heritage Management 5. Silk Road Narratives in East Asia: Cultural Heritage, Cultural Propaganda and Cultural Erasure 6. Archaeology, Politics and Diplomacy in Afghanistan: The International Years (1946–1978) 7. Asia’s Difficult Heritage-Making between Nationalism and Transnationalism: Colonial Prisons in South Korea, Taiwan, and China 8. Political Uses of Sacred Heritage at the Shwedagon Pagoda in British Burma (1824-1948) 9. Rights to Heritage and the Environment in Thailand: A Case Study of the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex Part Three: Archaeological Advances in Southeast Asia 10. The People of Angkor 11. The Enigmatic Jars of Laos: Recent Archaeological Research on the Plain of Jars 12. Leave No Stone Unturned: Exploring Behavioural Variability in Expedient Stone Tool Assemblages 13. Asia’s Heritage Trend: Lessons Learned and Moving Forward
Jongil Kim is Professor in the Department of Archaeology and Art History, Seoul National University, South Korea. Minjae Zoh is a Research Professor at the Seoul National University Asia Centre, South Korea.
