The activity that avoids alterations of something over time. This apparently neutral idea is not entirely innocent, because it mandates that any preservation activity must be succesful to actually qualify as preservation. A treatment that does not avoid alterations will not qualify as preservation - which would rule out many, if not all, preservation processes carried out throughout history: preservation processes can, at best, slow down alterations, but in many cases, preservation has accelarated the alteration of the objects it has been performed upon. [...] Preservation could [...] be defined as the action intended to keep the perceivable features of an object in their present state for as long as possible - a goal which is usually achieved by modifying some of the object's non-perceivable features [...] [The term 'preservation' is used by Salvador Munoz Vinas to refer to conservation in the narror sense, ed.] For this AIC offers the term 'stabilization': "treatment procedures intended to maintain the integrity of cultural property and to minimize deterioration". Munoz Vinas, 2005, p. 15 - 16, p. 18 Refers to actions taken to prevent further changes or deterioration in objects, sites, or structures. When such actions are taken on buildings or other structures specifically for cultural, aesthetic, or historic reasons, see "historic preservation." When changes return an object or structure to a state of historical correctness, see "restoration (process)." [...] More generally, for the treatment, preventive care, and research directed toward the long-term safekeeping of cultural and natural heritage, see "conservation." Art & Architecture Thesaurus