ABSTRACT
Conservation is a fusion of science, art, culture and logistics underpinned by situation ethics. This chapter explores some factors that influence cultural ethics. All materials interact with their environment and decay. Conservation prevents or minimises change and is carried out by conservators. The preservation of favored or culturally significant objects is not a new concept. Professions produce codes of ethics and conduct to both regulate the actions of their members and to act as a platform for any disciplinary action. As conservation is still an emerging profession in most countries, ethical frameworks also act to announce its arrival as a profession. Science has an important role in all aspects of conservation ethics. It is used to elucidate information about an object, which will contribute to investigative, historical and preservation debates. In many instances science can offer the evidence to support a particular course of action with an object.
