Archaeology has been traditionally looked at as a science which reconstructs human history and evolution through the study of material objects. This contribution revisits archaeology as a discipline which revives national pasts, and thus partakes in generating myths of roots and identity. In the world ‘after Thor Heyerdahl' – plunged in environmental crisis and haunted by economic collapse of many communities – the hunger for these myths is bound to intensify. I argue that today, especially, there is a need for archaeology in ‘Thor Heyerdahls' ’ sense: one which would illuminate the unity of mankind and emphasize the imperative of reclaiming nature as human habitat.

This paper examines the role of bibliometrics in exploring the question of the effect of commercialization upon the health of American science. It approaches the problem through the question: What would constitute relevant evidence documenting decline in the number of scientific articles published by American authors in the last two decades? Because even the data have been privatized recently, it begins by criticizing article counts used in other venues. It concludes by demonstrating that the problem of decline is not merely in relative shares between countries, but also an absolute decline in American-authored articles across the board. We close with some proposed causes of the decline.