The Motel Of The Mysteries Report

David Macaulay’s book, The Motel of the Mysteries, attempts to humorize archaeology, the study of human history through the analysis of artifacts and excavation. It emphasizes stereotypes of archaeology, perpetuating concepts of mystery, ancient civilization, and adventure. Howard Carson, a fictional character created by Macaulay, aims to mock Howard Carter, the archaeologist who unearthed King Tutankhamun’s tomb. He does this through reflective art pieces, all of which mirror photos taken in King Tut’s tomb, except the scenes are set in a rundown motel called, “Toot ‘N C’mon,” a further satirical play on King Tut. These photos show archaeologists labeling and numbering artifacts, such as shower curtains, soap bottles, toilets, etc. Carson

However, the archaeologists of today would not be led astray by such concepts portrayed in Macaulay’s images. While there is partial truth to Macaulay’s portrayal, we would not come to these conclusions today. With increasing modernization of the field, things such as patterning, extensive research design, and advanced excavation techniques give archaeologists better resources to discover and understand the culture and reality of the past. David Macaulay's satirical portrayal of archaeologists, seen through Howard Carson, would not completely align with the reality of modern archaeology due to the advanced nature of contemporary techniques and standards. The Motel of the Mysteries is a satirical novel that describes the discovery of a 20th-century motel in the future. It starts with the archaeologist Howard Carson, stumbling into this ravine that leads him to a mysterious door. He opens the door and reveals that it is a tomb littered with treasures and artifacts. They mark every detail of this tomb, which includes a do not disturb sign, door number, and littered

Perhaps the most striking image in Macaulay’s collection is that of a woman with a toilet seat around her neck, a connection to Sophia Schliemann wearing Priam’s treasure. Now, in the case of Sophia Schliemann, the jewelry she is wearing is accurately depicted, as the jewels were reserved for ornate and decorative purposes. However, Macaulay’s image is intentionally inaccurate, depicting a toilet seat, which has a clear use case, being used incorrectly as jewelry or for religious purposes. The image, which shows a woman wearing toothbrushes as earrings and a toilet seat as a necklace/headrest, clearly makes fun of concepts such as patterning and use-wear, as none of those artifacts would connote this type of use. For example, a toilet seat would primarily have wear on the place you would sit, being the outer rim of the toilet. There would be no rational assumption of a toilet seat being used in such fashion, as the use of the toilet seat wouldn’t reflect that type of use. We saw this example displayed in class by Professor