Research and Heritage Management in the Southern Caucasus: Future Perspectives in Post-Soviet Scenarios

Author(s): Alvaro Higueras

Year: 2019

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The South Caucasus Region: Crossroads of Societies & Polities. An Assessment of Research Perspectives in Post-Soviet Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The inheritance of Soviet-molded approaches to cultural heritage has seen slow changes in the last three decades in the ex-Soviet South Caucasian countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The creation of new models of research and management has been heterogeneous in the region. I continue here the trend presented at Vancouver's meeting, where I discerned two specific innovative but unsuccessful endeavors: private management of an archaeological site and documentation in a disputed territory. The heritage scenario is still not ready for drastic innovations: these new trends require a good deal of foresight, as in modeling the future scenarios by which heritage will thrive in the new modern "westernized" societies. So the question is: What is it ready for? What is it doing that contrasts with Soviet patterns? The arrival of the market economy, the rise of nationalism, and the revival of the role of the church (again, heterogeneously among the three countries) have marked the societal steps towards a post Soviet world or an atmosphere of reneging on any Soviet inheritance. I discuss the heritage issues in light of the work the researchers in the region are achieving and the narratives they are proposing for understanding South Caucasian history.

Cite this Record

Research and Heritage Management in the Southern Caucasus: Future Perspectives in Post-Soviet Scenarios. Alvaro Higueras. Presented at The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, NM. 2019 ( tDAR id: 451734)

Spatial Coverage

min long: 19.336; min lat: 41.509 ; max long: 53.086; max lat: 70.259 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23533