What is the theme in Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay?

The Motel of the Mysteries is an example of how history can be misinterpreted by its finders. Macaulay weaves a tale of discovery of what would happen if the North America continent was suddenly destroyed. Although it seems like the rest of the world has been left to continue civilization, North America has been buried under its own waste and products of consumerism. Macaulay takes the reader on a journey in which an under qualified, uneducated archaeologist, Howard Carson, stumbles upon a new discovery in Usa, which is in fact the United States. While Carson is definitely under qualified, other qualified archaeologists have also greatly misinterpreted the remnants of the supposedly long lost civilization.