The Aspects of Authenticity in the Digitalization of Cultural Heritage: A Drifting Paradigm

The digital age has led to the digitization of cultural heritage along with many other fields. While being a relatively recent subject of study, digital cultural heritage is nevertheless developing quickly. Museums and cultural heritage centers may be in a better position to utilize innovative digital technologies and contribute to a widespread public acceptance of technology as a tool for the study and presentation of the past. However, the digitalized cultural heritage raises several concerns and the one of authenticity remains the most vivid one. This paper explores the challenges of the aspects of authenticity in the digitization of cultural heritage while also analyzing the intervening factors involved in the digitalization of cultural heritage. The role of authenticity in this paper is not merely seen as a technical question but is intended to extend the argument to see it as an intellectual and epistemological question. Hence, the aim is to explore the evolving concept of authenticity that can be kept intact during the digital cultural heritage.