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Recently a model 1873 Winchester carbine was discovered in a national park. It was manufactured in 1882 but it's unknown when it was left in the park since many of those weapons are still in use after a century.  The rifle had been there long enough for the stock to weather like and old fence rail and the metal to collect a patina of rust.  The point is that quality material and workmanship created a mechanical device in the 19th century that possibly survived the elements for 130 years.

The rifle's survival is not so unique since museums are filled with the relics of past centuries.  In the early 20th century: children played with cast iron toys, porcelain dolls and real wood blocks; important documents were written on parchment and books printed on high quality rag paper.  Buildings were constructed of bricks and stone.  Things were made to last and often served generations.  A time capsule from 1795 containing relics from America's revolutionary era was opened this year in Boston.  The rifle and Paul Reverie's silver attest to the fact that quality survives.

World War Two left much of the world  in ruins and for the most part the survivors were more interested in building new than saving the old.  A lot of heritage was burned and buried to make room for the new.  A mystique built up around a throwaway society. Building new fed economies with a constant demand for replacements.

 Don't repair; buy new toasters, automobiles even buildings creating more jobs and more wealth.  Creating quality with parchment, iron, stone and steel gave way to disposable composites.  Why worry, things only had to last a generation before being torn down, melted or buried to make room for taller buildings, bigger coliseums, fancier cars, flashy toys and the latest kitchen gadgets.  Sometimes the latest didn't even last a generation before ending up on a trash pile, broken victims of new fads of the throwaway culture.  Even grandma's heirloom jewelry sank into the melting pot to for a more modern rebirth.

A few poor examples of the era, discovered in long forgotten warehouses, now bring high prices at antique auctions.  Its probable that dealers will soon flock to once closed societies like Cuba where heritage rests in a post war time warp. They had better move fast for the throwaway culture will soon export plastic replacements.  

Archeologist of the future may only have a few bits of biodegraded plastic to judge the 21st century's throwaway culture.  They will still have the pottery, gold and glass of prehistory to attest to the decline of civilizations. 

The 1873 Winchester will probably still be around, but what from this century will be in time capsules and cornerstones of buildings torn down each generation? What relics will the archeologist discover when they open our landfill mounds? What quality relics will be saved to mark the passing of this century?  It is possible that the only antiques of the 21st century to reach the 22nd will be old people maintained by new life support.