Presentation

Presentation

Cultural heritage is no longer viewed simply as a legacy inherited from the past. Increasingly, it is understood as a dynamic field of scholarly inquiry that reveals how societies construct and transmit knowledge, shape collective identities, and make sense of their relationship with the world. Beyond monuments, archaeological remains, or inherited traditions, heritage encompasses the living expressions through which communities preserve memories, articulate systems of representation, and perpetuate cultural practices. Consequently, it has become a central concern across the humanities and social sciences, bringing together perspectives from history, archaeology, anthropology and philosophy.

This special issue explores these questions through the lens of Southern Algeria, a region whose cultural heritage reflects a history extending over several millennia. Rather than a marginal space, the Algerian Sahara has long been a crossroads of mobility, exchange, and innovation. It has fostered distinctive forms of social organization, artistic expression, environmental adaptation, and symbolic production that continue to shape local identities today. Although the articles collected here address a wide range of topics, they are united by a shared concern: how do memory, cultural practices, and symbolic systems contribute to the making and transmission of identity in Southern Algeria ?

The issue opens with Achour Sergma’s study of popular poetry as a vehicle of resistance during the anti-colonial struggle in Southern Algeria. Drawing on an extensive corpus of oral poetry, the author argues that these compositions are far more than literary works; they function as repositories of collective memory. They commemorate the major markers of resistance, preserve the names of local fighters, bear witness to the suffering endured by communities, and sustain the hope to liberation. Through oral transmission across generations, they have become an essential medium for preserving both local memory and national history.

Rachida Kalfat Rostane’s contribution then offers an innovative reading of Tassili n’Ajjer through the concept of an « archaeology of the symbolic » Combining the anthropology of action with the phenomenology of art, she challenges evolutionary interpretations that regard rock art merely as a precursor to writing. Instead, the engravings are understood as evidence of an already sophisticated symbolic consciousness. From this perspective, Tassili becomes an exceptional site for reflecting on the emergence of humanity’s capacity to create meaning and represent the world.

Questions surrounding the earliest forms of cultural expression are further explored in Touhami Merzougui’s study of the archaeological site of Marhouma in the Saoura Valley. By bringing together evidence from rock engravings and archaeological excavations, the author demonstrates the significance of the site for understanding the earliest Amazigh cultural expressions in North Africa. His analysis also highlights the strategic role of the Saoura as a corridor linking the Sahara, the Mediterranean Maghreb, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Attention then shifts from archaeology to traditional ecological knowledge in the contribution by Touhami Merzougui and Larbi Benlarbi, devoted to the traditional hydraulic system of Tighira in Béni Abbès. Based on several years of fieldwork, the study reveals the remarkable ingenuity of oasis communities concerning managing scarce water resources in an arid environment. More importantly, it shows that this hydraulic system depended upon sophisticated forms of social organization, customary law, and local institutions that ensured the collective and sustainable management of water over many centuries. The article thus illustrates the continuing relevance of traditional knowledge in the face of contemporary environmental challenges.

Nassima Hamida’s contribution adopts an anthropological perspective to examine traditional adornments in the Tébessa region. Rather than treating jewellery solely as decorative objects, she interprets them as forms of social communication that express status, gender relations, rites of passage, and the social hierarchies embedded within local communities. In doing so, the article demonstrates how material culture serves as a powerful repository of cultural memory and collective values.

Taken together, these contributions highlight a shared understanding that heritage is not simply a legacy of the past but a living and dynamic resource that continues to shape identities and facilitate the transmission of knowledge across generations. Poetry, rock art, archaeological sites, hydraulic systems, and traditional jewelry all represent distinctive forms of cultural expression through which communities interpret their lived experiences, their relationship with the environment, and their collective memory.

Beyond the diversity of the topics addressed, this issue also demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to heritage research. By bringing together insights from history, archaeology, anthropology, and philosophy, it illustrates how the study of heritage increasingly relies on sustained dialogue across disciplines, enabling a richer and more nuanced understanding of cultural heritage in all its complexity.

The issue concludes with a Varia section featuring Imad Mahnane’s study of mathematical terminology in Ibn Khaldūn’s Muqaddima. Examining the circulation of concepts between mathematics, linguistics, religious sciences, and the occult sciences, the article highlights the richness of Ibn Khaldūn's classification of knowledge while opening new perspectives on the history of science and intellectual traditions in the Arab-Islamic world.

By bringing together studies that span different historical periods, regions, and methodological perspectives, this special issue seeks to enrich current scholarship on Algeria's cultural heritage. More broadly, it invites readers to recognize Southern Algeria as an important centre of cultural creativity and historical memory, whose tangible and intangible heritage continues to offer fertile ground for future research. Through these contributions, the issue aims to stimulate further scholarly dialogue on the interconnected themes of memory, heritage, and symbolism, while reaffirming the importance of their preservation, transmission, and continued interpretation.

Nassima HAMIDA, Research Center for Social and Cultural Anthropology (CRASC), 31000 Oran, Algeria.

Touhami MERZOUGUI, University of Béchar, 08000 Béchar, Algeria