MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY, CULTURAL HERITAGE & MUSEUM STUDIES.

NAME : ISHMAEL

SURNAME : NDLOVU

REG NUMBER : R132703E

MODE OF ENTRY : CONVENTIONAL

MODULE : 104

LECTURER : MRS F. ZAMBUKO

Assignment Question.

The process of recording the condition of cultural heritage is the a waste of

time and resources. Ague .
The systematic way of capturing important information of an object or cultural property, which is
recording, has is a laborious process which is important in the preservation, monitoring,
environmental impact assessment, and protecting the authenticity of cultural property. and for
authenticity. Recording also helps in reconstructing and restoring monuments and theme-parks,
so is the restoration of cultural property. It is important to note that without recording it is
difficult to prove ownership or valid title of a cultural object. It helps when lecturing the
audience to give right information all the time. It is mandatory to record information of cultural
property, this does not apply to Zimbabwe only it comes from the organisation called the World
Heritage Organisation. It is not the only one, there is also the Venice charter which state about
recording of important information when it states that, the condition of the paintings, the
technical and formal features pertaining to the process of the creation and the history of the
object must be recorded. Furthermore, every stage of the conservation-restoration, materials and
methodology used should be documented. Another point to note is that conservation refers to the
process of documentation, analysis, cleaning, and stabilization of an object meaning that when
there are no records the term conservation is not complete Plenderleith and Werner (1971).
However, the laborious crucial process of recording the condition of an object maybe highly
expensive that when that item is stolen or destroyed huge amounts of money, time and resources
will have been wasted. Conventions have stipulated that they are going to protect cultural
property if the country is a signatory to that convention, yet when the property has been
destroyed they no longer take part in the issue. In short they are scare crows. It is loss of
property, waste of time and resources.

For an object or cultural property to be preserved records of it should be readily available. all the
time. This helps the conservator to know the rate of deterioration, any changes and the treatment
response of an object. In China they keep paintings as their cultural property, the Venice Charter
states that the conservation-restoration of wall paintings must be accompanied by a precise
program of documentation in the form of an analytical and critical report, illustrated with
drawings, copies, photographs, and mapping, and etcetera. The condition of the paintings, the
technical and formal features pertaining to the process of the creation and the history of the
object must be recorded. Furthermore, every stage of the conservation-restoration, materials and
methodology used should be documented. This report should be placed in the archives of a
public institution and made available to the interested public. Copies of such documentation
should also be kept in situ or in the possession of those responsible for the monument. It is also
recommended that the results of the work should be published. This documentation should
consider definable units of area in terms of such investigations, diagnosis and treatment.
Traditional methods of written and graphic documentation can be supplemented ICOMOS
(2003).

When it comes to restoration records are needed for retaining the originality of a site., in case of
dry stone walling, the rightful stones where they belong. They are then complemented by colour
coding like in at Khami World Heritage Site ruins, they restored part of the wall hatplatforms that
had fallen. Where they restored there is colour coding to show that they restored the wall. If they
had not recoded the condition of the cultural property it was going to be difficult to restore the
fallen wall. Great Zimbabwe has been a source of pride ever since it was erected. There is need
to record its condition so as to maintain its stability. It is the one which defines the culture of
Zimbabwe therefore documentation will be needed. As cultural heritage, it is passed from one
generation to the next so for them to understand it in a better way there should be records.

Moreover, there is the issue of valid title. Records on cultural heritage are grossly inadequate or
even non-existent for most countries in Africa. Records are needed for purposes of planning and
the implementation of conservation and presentation strategies. The heritage picture for most
African countries is therefore still very incomplete e.g. in Zimbabwe most rock art sites are still
to be documented. Great Zimbabwe has been a subject of scrutiny as to who built it. The means
by which such an understanding of the resources may be achieved is through its initial recording.
What is fascinating about this issue is that there are records which say much about the owners
being the indigenous people. Portuguese eyewitness accounts written during the Khami period
make it clear that the Zimbabwe culture was the product of a Shona-speaking society. These
Portuguese accounts begin a 500-year long ethnographic record that allows us to understand the
Khami period in some historical and cultural detail. The models applied to the earlier data are
derived from this ethnographic record Huffman (1996) and the South African Archaeological
Bulletin 52:125-138 December (1997.)

More so, the recording of cultural property is not waste of time and resources instead, it does the
work of defining who we are and for the benefit of the property and people. In other words
recording is evidence on its own of the existing cultural property, as such materials used and time
taken is worth it.

Schro
da, the Zhizo capital from AD 900 to 1000. This recording serves an important part of recoding
cultural property because it gives a clear condition of the Zhizo site. Another burning issue is that
of the Zimbabwean birds. Seven bird sculptures where discovered because of the existing
records. Only four were recovered, the other part of the missing bird was found in Germany. For
it to come back it was loaned to Zimbabwe permanently, this shows the importance of recording
cultural property.
When cultural property has been stolen there is need for evidence of ownership and the only
way to prove is by producing the records either in the form of a written document or picture
photographs which is recording of the property. There must have enough recorded information to
allow verifiable identification of an object when found, seized by public authorities as suspect or
offered for sale, either locally or abroad. Thefts from excavation team storehouses are also
common. Illegal export may involve not only stolen or illegally excavated objects, but also those
subject to an export ban or restrictive licence because of their importance to the national heritage.
The exporter may be the owner, but there may also have been another illegal transaction
involved, such as an unauthorised transfer of ownership. In any of these cases, the heritage
accessible to citizens and scholars of the country of origin is diminished Prott (2004). Mukwatis
walking stick was believed to talk so a certain white family took it. If there were no records it
would have disappeared forever, but it was brought back because of the evidence. Now it is kept
in the museum of human sciences were the direct descendants of Mukwati take it for ritual
purposes and then return it to the museum Ndoro and Pwiti (ed) (2005).

Reconstruction is another dependant of recording, this is made possible by the fact that some
property is destroyed beyond repair so there should be reconstruction of the cultural property.
There are themeparks, Old Bulawayo Village were the late Lobengula lived, it was mysteriously
burnt down and could not be repaired therefore, they reconstructed it using the records in
existence. It must be noted that it is the negligence of National Museum and Monuments of
Zimbabwe (NMMZ). These are prominent figures which need care and conservation. What
remain are the records of the Old Bulawayo Village it can as well be reconstructed using the
records of the condition of the themepark.

When scholars are researching they need detailed information about the cultural property they
are interested in. It is therefore important to have records of the condition of cultural property so
as to monitor any changes caused by climate or any other factors. This enhances immediate
action of taking proper measures of conservation. It is impossible to conserve without recording
the condition of cultural property. If people exchange places of conservation there is only one
way of getting well versed with the condition of the cultural property, which is through records.
It all revolves around the issue of conservation. When people visit Great Zimbabwe recording of
the condition of the property will enable visitor management and other ways of keeping the place
or monument intact Prott(2004).

However, it should be noted that - International treaties whether general or specific, establish
rules expressly recognised by contesting states. Treaties are known and often called conventions,
International Agreements, Covenants, Acts, Charters, Pacts, and Statues. All these terms denote
to written agreements which can bind two or more international subjects in a way to set up
particular relations between themselves Munjeri (2008) and Lowenthal (1996). The great powers
form conventions that are like a toothless bulldog because they do not take a drastic action when
one of the powers violets the pact or treaty. There is the special case of the marbles of Greece
and Britain where Britain refused to give back the marbles which had a profound and significant
meaning to the people of Greece. The conventions did nothing to solve the case.

Last but not least, recording of cultural property becomes a waste of time and resources when
considering that the destruction of that property means looking for more resources, time and the
resources that had been used have been nullified or wasted. It is highly expensive to record the
condition of a cultural property especially when considering countries that have not developed
like African countries, Zimbabwe in particular.

Conclusively, it is important to note that without recording it is difficult to prove ownership or

valid title of a cultural object. It helps when lecturing the audience to give right information all
the time. It is mandatory to record information of cultural property, this does not apply to
Zimbabwe only it comes from the organisation called the World Heritage Organisation. It is not
the only one, there is also the Venice charter which state about recording of important
information when it states that, the condition of the paintings, the technical and formal features
pertaining to the process of the creation and the history of the object must be recorded.
Furthermore, every stage of the conservation-restoration, materials and methodology used should
be documented. Another point to note is that conservation refers to the process of documentation,
analysis, cleaning, and stabilization of an object meaning that when there are no records the term
conservation is not complete. However, the laborious process of recording the condition of an
object maybe highly expensive that when that item is stolen or destroyed huge amounts of
money, time and resources will have been wasted. Conventions have stipulated that they are
going to protect cultural property if the country is a signatory to that convention, yet when the
property has been destroyed they no longer take part in the issue. In short they are scare crows. It
is loss of property, waste of time and resources.

I expected a better response 63%

REFERENCE

Ashworth, G.J (2007) Heritage in Fragments: a Fragmented Instrument for Fragmented Policies,
in Cultural Heritage in the 21st Century Opportunities and Challenges, International Cultural
Centre, Krakow

Griswold, W (2004) Cultures and Societies in a Changing World, 2nd Edition, Pine Forge Press,
California

Lowenthal, D (1996) The Heritage Crusade and Spoils of History, Penguin Books Ltd, New York

Ndoro, W and Pwiti G (ed) (2005) Legal Frameworks for the Protection of Immovable Heritage
in Africa, ICCROM Conservation Studies 5, Rome

Prott, L (2004) A Practical Handbook To Heritage Management, Franly. South Africa.

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