This book examines the region’s diverse and often underexplored heritage landscapes by bringing together contributions from leading scholars to map the intersections of tangible and intangible heritage across the Asia-Pacific. The volume highlights the complex relationships between people, place, culture and history, ranging from archaeological sites and UNESCO-recognised locations to sacred landscapes and living traditions.

Adopting a transdisciplinary approach, the volume investigates how heritage is produced, negotiated and sustained within rapidly changing socio-economic contexts. The chapters address key issues such as identity formation, resilience and conservation, while also examining themes of spirituality, collective memory, indigenous knowledge and the global politics of recognition. Through diverse case studies, the volume demonstrates how heritage operates as a dynamic and contested field shaped by local practices and global frameworks.

This book provides critical perspectives on the evolving meanings and challenges of heritage in the Asia-Pacific, offering both regional specificity and broader theoretical insights. The book is of significant use to postgraduate students, researchers and scholars in archaeology, anthropology, geography, heritage studies and sociology, as well as professionals engaged in heritage conservation and cultural policy.

Dr Rituparna Bhattacharyya, SFHEA, FRGS, is a visiting professor at the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, and an independent research consultant and Editor-in-Chief (Joint) of the SCOPUS-indexed international journal Space and Culture, India, published from the UK. She worked as an adjunct faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, from 2022 to 2025. On 15 April 2025, she became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, UK. She attained her Senior Fellow status with Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy, UK) in 2021. In 2018, she received an Associate Fellowship from Advance HE.

Rituparna is currently the Series Editor for Gender and Violence, Routledge, Taylor and Francis. She also works as an Associate Editor for two international journals. They are Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (nature.com), Springer Nature, and Diversity & Inclusion Research, published by John Wiley & Sons in the United Kingdom. Rituparna was appointed as an Executive Council member of Cotton University, India, in November 2023. Among her newest distinctions, she received the Editor of Distinction Award 2026 from Springer Nature, was recognised in May 2026 for her editorial service to Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, and has been named convener of a proposed UNESCO Chair at Cotton University, Assam.