01409nas a2200229   4500000000100000000000100001000000100002008004100003653001300044653001100057653002400068653001400092653001400106653001600120100001400136245002800150856016600178300001000344490000600354520079900360022002001159       2013                            d10aheritage10aUNESCO10aintangible heritage10atradition10avaluation10aTutankhamen1 aK. Gibson00aValuing living heritage  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84884581510&doi=10.18848%2f2325-1115%2fCGP%2fv08i02%2f55180&partnerID=40&md5=3cd317dba961954b7e3e1a334ef9c3f9  a87-980 v83 aIt is impossible to conserve all heritage. How then do we distinguish what should be kept from what should be abandoned? One way is to treat it as a commodity valued by market mechanisms. For example, the Tutankhamen relics toured worldwide and were assessed by the profit they generated through admission tickets, souvenirs and increased hotel and restaurant sales. Market metrics often fail, though, when applied to living heritage. I use three examples, Taiwanese puppetry, Polish lace making and the Chant of the Sybil in Majorca to illustrate the limitations of a purely monetary approach and show some potential alternatives. I conclude that because once lost, living heritage usually cannot be recovered, advocates should employ both economic and non-economic arguments for preservation.  a23251115 (ISSN)