Open AccessNatural sciences at the service of art and cultural heritage: an interdisciplinary area in development and important challenges
Author(s) -
Piñar Guadalupe,
Sterflinger Katja
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
microbial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.287
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 1751-7915
DOI - 10.1111/1751-7915.13766
Subject(s) - cultural heritage , natural (archaeology) , natural heritage , conservation , industrial heritage , relevance (law) , service (business) , engineering ethics , cultural heritage management , asset (computer security) , environmental ethics , work (physics) , history , political science , engineering , archaeology , computer science , business , mechanical engineering , philosophy , computer security , marketing , tourism , law
Summary Our cultural heritage is a common asset that tells the story of our shared past, is part of our origin and identity and has wide social relevance. Our works of art and our heritage must be enjoyed, appreciated and preserved for future generations. To this end, a wide and varied group of professionals, including conservators, restorers, curators, bibliographers, historians, archivists, but also scientists, such as biologists, chemists, physicists and bioinformaticians, work side by side to preserve our cultural heritage. Working together in this wide range of disciplines included in the so‐called ‘heritage sciences’ is the only plausible way to contribute to the sustainable preservation of our heritage. The great progress made in recent years in conservation and restoration work, but also in the natural sciences considered within heritage science, has provided powerful tools and strategies for analytical and experimental research into historical and cultural objects that open up new frontiers for their diagnosis, monitoring and protection. Here we highlight some of the advances and challenges faced by the natural sciences at the service of art.