An Analytical Introduction to the Social History of the Conservation and Preservation of Historic Resources

Creating precious architectural and artworks is an important socio-cultural act. Consequently, the act of preserving those resources could be considered a socio-cultural action. In general, preserving historic resources is studied as a humanist and modern act; however, historically, and particularly in the pre-modern era, there are instances of the same socio-cultural actions, which, if not entirely, at least in some parts, ties to the modern approaches of preservation.

This paper, in a descriptive-analytical method and with a concentration on social history, examines some of the existing examples and historical records of preservation actions. The main question of this research is how the preservation of historic resources as a socio-cultural action could be analyzed through social history. This question is important because the preservation of historic resources is not only a modern approach but a social and cultural response, which in many cases is for political and religious purposes. Thus, it could enlighten some parts of the cultural and social life of the people in pre-modern Iran.

while it confirms the continuousness of society’s attention to historic resources over time for several reasons, including value, national and religious interest, cultural and social beliefs, and political motivations, it also creates public awareness and, subsequently, social advocacy for the conservation and preservation of historic resources, or in some cases, the opposite, destruction of cultural and historical resources for the same reasons.