As the body of cultural heritage protection , both tangible culture and intangible culture carry the history as well as the symbols and faiths of a country or nation , so multi-disciplinary knowledge is needed for their preservation . The consciousness of cultural heritage preservation took time to develop , and the principles , goals and guidelines came to be systematized only by the 20th century . As an undertaker of heritage preservation , the government should establish an authoritative committee which includes scientists as well as scholars in humanities and social sciences to evaluate and approve of the projects of heritage preservation . In terms of the protection of folk cultures , respect for the participation and benefits of disadvantaged groups and integration of academic research with practice are the disciplinary principles and objectives of anthropology . Visual anthropology can not only realize the preservation but also″activate″the contemporary significance of cultural heritage , so it plays a very important role in today's cultural heritage protection.