This text is a groundbreaking work by archaeologist Lynn Meskell that examines the conflicts inherent in natural vs. cultural heritage. The author brings archaeological and ethnographic evidence to bear on a holistic understanding of one nation's self-identification by developing its protected areas and cultural heritage sites.

The Nature of Heritage: The New South Africa is unique in revealing the conflicts inherent in preserving both natural and cultural heritage, by examining the archaeological, ethnographic and economic evidence of a nation's attempts to master its past and its future. * Provides a classic example of how nations attempt to overcome a negative heritage through past mastering of their histories * Evaluates the continuing dominance of nature and conservation over concerns for cultural heritage * Employs ethnographic and archaeological methodologies to reveal how the past is processed into a new national heritage * Identifies heritage as therapy, exemplified in the strategy for repairing legacies of racial and ethnic difference in post-apartheid South Africa * Highlights the role of archaeological heritage sites, national parks and protected areas in economic development and social empowerment * Explores how nature trumps culture and the global implications of the new configurations of heritage