The cosmopolitan approach, a way to bind heritage values?

International audienceFor the last two decades, the management framework for heritage shifted from one centred on the conservation of sites and monuments (a preservationist approach) to the management of the values underpinning heritage significance (Sullivan 1997; Truscott and Young 2000; de la Torre 2002; Demas 2002; Mason 2002; Mason and Avrami 2002; de la Torre et al. 2005). Linked to the publication of the Burra Charter in 1979, heritage management processes around the world now typically involve the identification of these five types of heritage value at each site and planning around how to sustain and enhance each of these sets of values (e.g. Deacon 2006; Smith 2006a; Seif 2009; Gόmez Robles 2010). Whilst values-based heritage management is now nearly universal, aspects of its implementation have been challenged (e.g. Poulios 2010; Araoz 2011). We seek to take this challenge further by focusing on the “Preservation/Heritage Values/Management” triptych with the aim of proposing a new methodology for addressing the values attributed to cultural heritage sites. Combining multidisciplinary and cosmopolitan methods, we propose to move beyond the analysis of the processes of hybridization between attributed heritage values (Duval et al. 2018) and therefore seek to propose a new manner of addressing issues linked to heritage values-based approach. Our proposal is based on our researches done in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains (South African section), where rock art shelters cross a suite of social, aesthetic, economic and research dimensions. Their preservation therefore requires a holistic approach amenable to considering the full complexity of their uses and meaning. Through a thematic analysis of the data collected in this area from 2009 to 2017, six cross-cultural interest points have been identified and are discussed. Building upon the history of values-based heritage management, we argue that our results are transferable and useful to draw up heritage management plans