Difference Between Ancestry and Heritage

Key Difference – Ancestry vs Heritage

Ancestry can simply be defined as the decent or the lineage of a person. All beings on this earth have their own ancestry. When we trace back the history, we can think of our ancestors who are great grandparents, and we are descendants of their ancestry. On the other hand, heritage is the inheritedcustoms, traditions, beliefs,monuments, andartifactsfrom our ancestors. Heritage includes both physical objects and intangible things. Thekey difference between ancestry and heritage is that the ancestry is the lineage of the people while the heritage is the inheritance from the ancestry。In this article, we are going to look at the difference between the terms, ancestry and heritage, in more detail.

什么是祖先？

祖先与我们的血统线上的人打交道。One’s parents, grandparents and great grandparents and their former generations can be taken as the ancestry of him/her. In scientific terms, the people who are responsible for one’s physical existence via procreation can be recognized as the ancestry or ancestors. Once we trace back the past, we are able to draw a family tree based on the ancestry of anybody. Thus, ancestry is genetically and generationally inherited. Nobody can change his/her ancestry though he or she can hide details.

Being aware of one’s ancestry is helpful in certain matters, such as identifying diseases and certain habits. Also, ancestry adds value to one’s personal identity. Ancestry has some connection with one’s birthplace because his family members and ancestors might have been living there for a long time. But it is not necessary for a person to be in the very place that they were born to trace back his ancestry. However, it might be useful in order to collect deeper facts about one’s ancestors.

What is Heritage?

Heritage deals with cultural inheritance。物质的东西以及无风度的事物可以通过文化继承。无论我们从祖先那里继承什么东西，都可以被视为遗产。此外，人们的生活方式是由遗产塑造的。也就是说，我们根据习惯形成我们的行为lifestyles, ideas, beliefs, and practices, etc., inherited from our culture. Heritage can be seen in many forms. Natural resources, such as fauna and flora, landscapes, land forms, etc. can be considered as natural heritages. Artifacts, paintings, jewelry, clothes, and monuments can be described as material heritages. Beliefs, values, traditions, ethics, and morals are non-physical features that we’ve inherited. All these things add value to humans as a whole, and we all benefit from those heritages.

An important fact about heritage is that it could be preserved and valued as well as it could be destroyed. We can leave our heritages to the future generations also if we want. However, heritage is an essential part of our current life.

What is the difference between Ancestry and Heritage?

Definitions of祖先and heritage

祖先：Ancestry is one’s historical evolution, based on family relationships.

Heritage:Heritage is a sort of inheritance from the ancestry, not necessarily relatives.

Characteristics of Ancestry and Heritage

Inheritance

祖先：Ancestry is more or less a biological phenomenon.

Heritage:Heritage is mostly a cultural phenomenon.

Alterations

祖先：No one can change his/her ancestry unless he or she hide details about it.

Heritage:Heritage can be preserved as well as destroyed, according to the will.

Importance

祖先：祖先在图中很重要uring out details on diseases, genetic conditions.

Heritage:Heritage is important in understanding cultural and social values, especially in bygone.

ImageCourtesy:

Katarzyna＆William by M.Dolly [CC BY-SA 2.0] 通过Flickr

“Heritage Hill 2” by Kent county; transferred by User:Werewombat [Public Domain] viaWikimedia Commons