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Rock Art Conservation and Tourism

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Abstract

Rock art conservation has developed hand-in-hand with the increased pace of tourism, yet the two activities tend to remain in opposing camps. Policies and guidelines have been developed for cultural heritage and cultural tourism and there is a widely accepted range of principles in place, but a theory of sustainable rock art tourism is only in its infancy. To mature, the discipline needs research into the interaction of key elements that affect the long-term conservation of frequently visited rock paintings and engravings in their original setting, as well as consideration of social and economic factors that drive tourism and the public interest in rock art.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Sincere thanks to the anonymous referees who commented on the first draft of this paper, and to April Nowell for the invitation to contribute to this volume.

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Correspondence to Janette Deacon.

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Deacon, J. Rock Art Conservation and Tourism. J Archaeol Method Theory 13, 376–396 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-006-9024-y

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