She suggests societies can profit by the mistakes of the past, but they should not focus on the wrongs. Archaeology can demonstrate problems and possibilities of people as they interact with their environment. Societies and civilizations have changed regions and been changed by them. Using all of a particular resource in an area has caused groups to move elsewhere, for example. Pollution of streams is another cause for societal change found anciently and not just today.
Opportunities exist for people of today to learn from the past.
Dr. Meggers is respected and appreciated by her colleagues at the Smithsonian. Many people who were born in 1921 have retired, yet Dr. Meggers is in her Smithsonian Institution office at 6 am daily. Dr. Meggers is a person who has made a difference. She became an archaeologist who worked in the field when women were thought to be too fragile. She attributes part of her success to marrying a man who encouraged her and with whom she had a personal and professional partnership.