---
title: "Heritage science"
chunk: 1/3
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_science"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:55:22.471481+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Heritage science is the interdisciplinary domain of scientific study of cultural and natural heritage. Heritage science draws on diverse humanities, sciences and engineering disciplines. It focuses on enhancing the understanding, care and sustainable use of heritage so it can enrich people's lives, both today and in the future. Heritage science is an umbrella term encompassing all forms of scientific enquiry into human works and the combined works of nature and humans, of value to people.
The above definition was developed though a community consultation organised by ICCROM and the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science in 2019.
The term has become widely used after 2006, when it became increasingly evident that the more traditional terms conservation science or preservation science inadequately reflected the breadth of research into cultural heritage. Heritage scientists in museums, galleries, libraries, archives, universities and research institutions support conservation (often called conservation science), access (e.g. development of new ICT tools), interpretation, including archaeometry and archaeological science (e.g. dating, provenancing, attribution), heritage management (e.g. development of tools and knowledge supporting strategic or environmental management decisions) and wider societal engagement with heritage (e.g. heritage values and ethics). Heritage science is also an excellent vehicle for public engagement with science as well as heritage.
Heritage science is seen as "key to the long-term sustainability of heritage: it is about managing change and risk and maximising social, cultural and economic benefit not just today, but in such a way that we can pass on to future generations that which we have inherited." Domains of research, where heritage science makes a particular input were recognised by the United Kingdom National Heritage Science Strategy documents to be museums, galleries, libraries and archives; the built historic environment and archaeology.

== Theory ==

The field still requires its literature canon, and opinions on whether heritage science is a domain in its own right or a field of research diverge. However, this appears to be a matter of academic recognition, rather than a matter of research practice.
Heritage science is an old field of research: in his Royal Institution Christmas Lecture in 1843, Michael Faraday already pointed out how pollution importantly contributes to book degradation. The following premises appear to be of defining importance:

Heritage science is inherently biased, as scientists, by doing research on heritage, contribute to its value: they create and popularize heritage through their research.
Heritage science is neither fundamental nor experimental: work with actual heritage objects, buildings or sites cannot be repeatable, because heritage is not an experiment. On the other hand, the scientific method and deductive reasoning are easily applied when working with models and model objects, which heritage scientists often do due to the high value of actual historic objects and consequentially, sampling restrictions.
Since the historical context of heritage is often unknown, there can be any number of variables affecting the heritage system under observation – inductive reasoning is therefore often applied in heritage science. In this aspect, the premise of heritage science comes close to social science. Heritage that is accessible, in its preserved authentic form or as a (digital) reproduction, is also a "resource for economic growth, employment and social cohesion". Through improved access, heritage science can contribute to people's well-being. Heritage science is proof that there is no world of 'Two Cultures'. A scientist, researching heritage defies the existence of the divide: there can be no scientific research of heritage without a contribution by humanities research. Heritage science also successfully bridges science and notions of culture, because it provides an attractive vehicle to convey ideas and concepts related to technology and engineering, as well as culture and society. Heritage science can be considered an anthropogenic analogue to environmental geography, which was defined by Halford Mackinder in 1887 as a discipline that aims to "bridge one of the greatest of all gaps" between "the natural sciences and the study of humanity".  A different definition of heritage as part of a group's social psychology has been proposed by F.F.J. Schouten as "history processed through mythology, ideology, nationalism, local pride, romantic ideas or just plain marketing."

== Research ==