UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF WATER BYINVESTIGATINGTHE HISTORY OF WORLD’S FAIRS: AN ALERT FOR NEEDED RESEARCH

Human society is more complex than ever before. The demands for fresh water resources are greater than any time in history. As humansengage ina period of historyfocused on the availability and quality of fresh water (the age of water)the need has never been greater to reexamine human history with waterto educateand improvefuture management of the resource. Water has always been a central and integrative theme of human culture and indicator of technological advancement. Contemporarymanagement all too often reflects a culture of belief that water is available in nearly unlimited supplies. However, that culture is changing with population growth, agricultural expansion, urbanization and changes in historic weather patterns. History provides the greatest illustrations of human culture and much can be learned through untappedreference collections such as world's fairs. Such collections can supply a glimpse in to the realities (a snapshot) of the time and thus providean unrivalled historic reference.History shows that while cultural philosophies may not have markedly changed, extraction and use of fresh water certainly has. Water has always been a central and integrative theme of world's fairs and Expositions, which now provide reconstructions of water use and philosophy of the past and thus provide guidancefor the future. World's fairs collections (and other suchresources) can provide the needed platform to transform human water culture towards a future of security and sustainability.