Cultural Resources
( Article Type: Explanation )
Cultural resources are those lessons we have learned and carried forward from our history, which show us how we developed as human beings and how our society evolved. These resources could be prehistoric pots, old buildings, folk songs, traditional practices, languages, ancient stories, books and papers, paintings, rock art, battlefields, relics from bygone ages, old photographs or films, and so on. They are all records of what previous generations did, said, thought and created.
We learn from the past so that we can plan and develop for the future. It is important that we recognise the importance of the past and preserve examples to help future generations understand how we developed and perhaps to save them from making the same mistakes.
South Africa is a diverse society with many different components to it. The different components and ethnic groupings within our society have differing views on culture as it affects them. A society’s laws, morals, ethics and standards are based on the cultural principles that have developed as the society has matured and grown.
