In 1985, a cataclysmic disaster occurred. An accidental reduction in postal rates of 3rd & 4th class mail literally buried the North Americans under piles of brochures, fliers, and small containers marked 'free'. In less than a day, their civilization disappeared. In 4022, the ground beneath Howard Carson's feet gave way, and he found himself standing at what could only be a tomb door. He realized he was on the threshold of history, as he would be the discoverer of the mysterious burial customs of the late twentieth-century North Americans. This is the story of his archaeological excavation, and the resulting museum collections of his finds (organized by the Department of Yank Antiquities). For anyone who's been interested in archaeology, anthropology, or even just walked through a history museum or watched a television documentary, The Motel of the Mysteries will delight. Interpreting a toilet seat as the Sacred Collar, drawing & numbering the 'priceless artifacts' in the 'tomb' in exquisite scale, noting the 'Great Alter' for communication with the gods MOVIEA and MOVIEB, and even including a special section on the museum gift shop souvenirs (including a solid crystal paperweight enclosing a reproduction of a Plant That Would Not Die, and a seven-coaster set based on the mosaic ceiling tiles with the precise water marks of the original, available handsomely boxed), The Motel of the Mysteries is a hysterical look at the methods of archaeological interpretation. 95 pages, softcover. |
