HERITAGE UNDERFOOT: EXPLORING GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM AROUND ARKHARLY THROUGH A CRITICAL HERITAGE STUDIES PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Contemporary heritage practices are largely framed by official discourses rooted in definitions that overemphasize materiality. This thesis project aims to explore a more nuanced way of approaching heritage through the lens of critical heritage studies that posits heritage ultimately to be not primarily an object or site but rather about people and how people ‘use’ the past to help them address certain concerns in the present. The study focuses on grassroots activism around the Arkharly rock art site, revealing the motivations behind their participation and identifying factors that facilitated their success. This heritage movement was essentially a set of actions and practices through which people attempted to address current social issues in Kazakhstan to navigate change. The preservation movement itself was a practice of making meaning, which also fostered well-being, social bonding, and the creation of identities.