ABOUT BOOK

The word "heritage" is one that means many things to many people. It often brings to mind things like food, language, clothing, or other traditions that are passed on from generation to generation. But it also includes places, buildings, art, values, and ways of making a living in particular environments. In Maya communities, as is the case elsewhere around the world, cultural practices and the environment are tightly connected, with one shaping the other.With this workbook we take a broad view of heritage, one that links cultural and environmental histories, landscapes, and practices together. A term that UNESCO and others often use is "cultural landscapes" to refer to a long and intimate relationship between peoples and their...environment (http://whc.unesco.org/en/culturallandscape/)." This also reflects the ways many of the people who shared this information for the workbook view their own heritage.