Abstract
Archaeological endeavors undertaken under rehabilitation programs underway in historic urban centers have allowed us to approach the city from another perspective that goes beyond town planning and architecture, deeply rooted in those programs. Archaeology, seen as a discipline that contributes to the knowledge of the city, has developed under situations of emergency related to the restoration of the built heritage. However, the management of archaeological heritage is rarely planned. Today, there is clear-cut evidence on the need to develop more comprehensive working models to evaluate archaeological resources. This would help recording, studying, and integrating them within town planning schemes. In this way, archaeological practice within urban environments is scientifically planned from the standpoint of prevention. This issue is thoroughly addressed in this paper presented for Havana’s historic center.
Development projects constitute one of the greatest physical threats to the archaeological heritage. A duty for developers to ensure that archaeological heritage impact studies are carried out before development schemes are implemented, should therefore be embodied in appropriate legislation…
Article 3, Charter for the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage (1990) ICOMOS.
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Notes
- 1.
According to the ordinances for urban layout in Spanish America, the cities should be structured like a checkerboard, arranged into rectangular blocs having a square as the axis. The streets started in this square, a criterion close to Renaissance ideas in force in medieval Europe and basically fuelled by the rediscovery of Vitruvius. As noted by the researcher García Santana: “Together with the conquest of America with the means defined for the secular process of the Reconquest, the troops of Charles V met with the most advanced urban theories when they continued with the fight started by the Aragonese in Italy.” This influence was reflected in the Legislation for the West Indies, contemplated in the Municipal Ordinances of Alonso de Cáceres of 1573.
- 2.
Historic center means the combination of urban buildings, public and private spaces, streets, squares, and the geography or topography of the surroundings where it is settled. At one point in history, it had a clear-cut appearance of a social community, particularized and organized. Havana’s historic center covers the area enclosed by the former city walls and the sea.
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Menéndez, S. (2014). An Approach on the Application of Preventive Archaeology in Havana’s Historic Center, Cuba. In: Castillo, A. (eds) Archaeological Dimension of World Heritage. SpringerBriefs in Archaeology(). Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0283-5_2
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