Space radar, infrared photography, carbon dating, DNA analysis, microfilm, digital databases - we have better technology than ever before for studying and preserving the past. And yet the by-products of technology threaten to destroy - in one or two generations - monuments, works of art, and ways of life that have survived thousands of years of hardship and war. This paradox is central to our age. We can access infinite amounts of information on the internet, but the historical context of it all is escaping us. Globalization may eventually benefit countries around the world; it will also, almost certainly, lead to the disappearance of hundreds of regional dialects, languages, and whole societies.