This book will suggest new agendas for identity and heritage studies by means of presenting
contentious issues facing archaeology and heritage management in a globalized world. The book
is not only present the variability of heritage objectives and experiences in the New and Old
World and opens a discussion in a shrinking world to look beyond national and regional
contexts. If the heritage sector and archaeology are to remain relevant in our contemporary
world and the near future there are a number of questions concerning the politics practices
and narratives related to heritage and identity that must be addressed. Questions of relevance
in an affluent cosmopolitan setting are at odds with those relevant for a region emerging from
civil war or ethnic strife or a national minority battling oppression or ethnic cleansing. A
premise is that heritage represents a broad scope of empirically and theoretically sound
interpretations - that heritage is a response to contemporary forces as much as data. It is
therefore necessary constantly to evaluate what is scientifically accurate as well as what is
valid and relevant and what can have a contemporary impact.
