A History of the World in 100 Objects

A History of the World in 100 Objects is a joint project of the British Broadcasting Corporation and the British Museum, comprising a 100-part radio series written and presented by British Museum director Neil MacGregor. In 15-minute presentations broadcast on weekdays on Radio 4, MacGregor uses objects of ancient art, industry, technology and arms, all of which are in the British Museum's collections, as an introduction to parts of human history. The series, four years in planning, began on 18 January 2010 and will be broadcast over 20 weeks.

The programme series, described as "a landmark project", is billed as 'A history of humanity' told through a hundred objects from all over the world in the British Museum's collection.

In these programmes, I'm travelling back in time, and across the globe, to see how we humans over 2 million years have shaped our world and been shaped by it, and I'm going to tell this story exclusively through the things that humans have made: all sorts of things, carefully designed, and then either admired and preserved, or used, broken and thrown away. I've chosen just a hundred objects from different points on our journey, from a cooking pot to a golden galleon, from a Stone Age tool to a credit card.

Telling history through things, whether it's an Egyptian mummy or a credit card, is what museums are for, and because the British Museum has collected things from all over the globe, it's not a bad place to try to tell a world history. Of course, it can only be "a" history of the world, not "the" history. When people come to the museum they choose their own objects and make their own journey round the world and through time, but I think what they will find is that their own histories quickly intersect with everybody elses, and when that happens, you no longer have a history of a particular people or nation, but a story of endless connections.

Accompanying the series is a website, described by The Guardian as "even more ambitious [than the radio series itself] that encourages users to submit items of their own for a place in world history", along with much interactive content, detailed information on all the objects featured in the radio programmes and links to 350 other museum collections across the UK. The radio programmes will be available on the website permanently for listening or downloading.

On 18 January 2010, an hour long special of The Culture Show on BBC2 was dedicated to the launch of the project.

The first part of the series was broadcast over six weeks between 18 January and 26 February 2010. After a short break, the series returned with the seventh week being broadcast in the week beginning 17 May 2010.

Objects

Number	Object	Origin	Date	BBC website	BM website	Notes
Making us human (2,000,000 – 8,000 BC) "Neil MacGregor reveals the earliest objects that define us as humans." First broadcast week beginning 18 January 2010.
1	Mummy of Hornedjitef	Egypt	300 - 200 BC	BBC	BM, BM, BM	Additional contributors: Amartya Sen, John Taylor
2	Stone (basalt) chopping tool	Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania	1.8-2 million years old	BBC	BM	Additional contributor: Sir David Attenborough
3	Handaxe	Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania	1.2 - 1.4 million years old	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Sir James Dyson, Phil Harding, Nick Ashton
4	Swimming reindeer from Montastruc rock shelter	France	13,000 years old	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, Steve Mithen
5	Clovis spear point	Arizona, USA	13,000 years old	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Michael Palin, Gary Haynes
After the Ice Age: food and sex (8,000 – 3,000 BC) "Why did farming start at the end of the Ice Age? Clues remain in objects left behind." First broadcast week beginning 25 January 2010.
6	Bird-shaped pestle	Papua New Guinea	4,000 - 8,000 years old	BBC	BM
7	Ain Sakhri lovers figurine	Judea	about 11,000 years old	BBC	BM
8	Clay model of cattle	Egypt	about 3,500BC	BBC	BM
9	Maya maize god statue	Honduras	AD 715	BBC	BM
10	Jomon pot	Japan	about 5,000 BC	BBC	BM
The first cities and states (3,500 – 2,000 BC) "What happens as people move from villages to cities? Five objects tell the story." First broadcast week beginning 1 February 2010.
11	King Den's sandal label	Egypt	about 2,985 BC	BBC	BM
12	Standard of Ur	Iraq	2,600 - 2,400 BC	BBC	BM
13	An Indus seal	Pakistan	4,000 - 2,000 BC	BBC	BM
14	Jadeite axe	from the Alps, found in England	4,000 - 2,000 BC	BBC	BM
15	Early writing tablet	Iraq	3,100 - 3,000 BC	BBC	BM
The beginning of science and literature (2000 – 1200 BC) "4,000 years ago, societies began to express themselves through myth, maths and monuments." First broadcast week beginning 8 February 2010.
16	Flood tablet	Iraq	700 - 600 BC	BBC	BM
17	Rhind Mathematical Papyrus	Egypt	about 1550 BC	BBC	BM
18	Minoan Bull-leaper	Crete	1700 - 1450 BC	BBC	BM
19	Mold gold cape	Wales	1900 - 1600 BC	BBC	BM
20	Statue of Ramesses II	Egypt	about 1,250 BC	BBC	BM
Old world, new powers (1100 – 600 BC) "Across the world new regimes create objects to assert their supremacy." First broadcast week beginning 15 February 2010.
21	Lachish Reliefs	Iraq	700 - 692 BC	BBC	BM
22	Sphinx of Taharqo	Sudan	about 680 BC	BBC	BM
23	Chinese Zhou ritual vessel	China	1100 - 1000 BC	BBC	BM
24	Paracas textile	Peru	300 - 200 BC	BBC	BM
25	Gold coin of Croesus	Turkey	about 550 BC	BBC	BM
The world in the age of Confucius (500 – 400 BC) "Can meanings hidden in friezes and flagons tell us as much as the writings of great men?" First broadcast week beginning 22 February 2010.
26	Oxus chariot model	Tajikistan	500 - 300 BC	BBC	BM
27	Parthenon sculpture: Centaur and Lapith	Greece	about 440 BC	BBC	BM
28	Basse Yutz flagons	France	about 450 BC	BBC	BM
29	Olmec stone mask	Mexico	900 - 400 BC	BBC	BM
30	Chinese bronze bell	China	500 - 400 BC	BBC	BM
Empire Builders (300 BC – AD 10) "The lives and methods of powerful rulers around the world 2,000 years ago - what enduring qualities are needed for the perfect projection of power?" First broadcast week beginning 17 May 2010.
31	Coin of Lysimachus with head of Alexander	Turkey	305 - 281 BC	BBC	BM
32	Pillar of Ashoka	India	about 238 BC	BBC	BM
33	The Rosetta Stone	Egypt	196BC	BBC	BM
34	Chinese Han lacquer cup	China	AD 4	BBC	BM
35	Head of Augustus	Sudan	27 - 25 BC	BBC	BM	Additional contributor: Boris Johnson
Ancient pleasures, modern spice (AD 1 – 600) "The ways in which people sought pleasure 2,000 years ago." First broadcast week beginning 24 May 2010.
36	The Warren Cup	near Jerusalem	AD 5 - 15	BBC	BM	Additional contributor: Bettany Hughes
37	North American otter pipe	USA	200 BC - AD 100	BBC	BM	Additional contributor: Tony Benn
38	Ceremonial ballgame belt	Mexico	AD 100 - 500	BBC	BM	Additional contributor: Nick Hornby
39	Admonitions Scroll	China	AD 500 - 800	BBC	BM
40	Hoxne pepper pot	England	AD 350 - 400	BBC	BM
The rise of world faiths (AD 100 – 600) "How and when many great religious images came into existence." First broadcast week beginning 31 May 2010.
41	Seated Buddha from Gandhara	Pakistan	AD 100 - 300	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Claudine Bautze-Picron, Thupten Jinpa
42	Gold coin of Kumaragupta I	India	AD 415 - 450	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Romila Thapar, Shaunaka Rishi Das
43	Silver plate showing Shapur II	Iran	AD 309 - 379	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Tom Holland, Guitty Azarpay
44	Hinton St Mary Mosaic	England	AD 300 - 400	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Dame Averil Cameron, Eamonn Duffy
45	Arabian bronze hand	Yemen	AD 100 - 300	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Jeremy Field, Philip Jenkins
The Silk Road and beyond (AD 400 – 800) "Five objects from the British Museum tell the story of the movement of goods and ideas." First broadcast week beginning 7 June 2010.
46	Gold coins of Abd al-Malik	Syria	AD 696-7	BBC	BM	Additional contributors: Madawi Al-Rasheed, Hugh Kennedy
47	Sutton Hoo helmet	England	AD 600 - 700	BBC	BM	Additional contributor: Seamus Heaney
48	Moche warrior pot	Peru	AD 100 - 700	BBC	BM	Additional contibutors: Grayson Perry, Steve Bourget
49	Korean roof tile	Korea	AD 700 - 800	BBC	BM
50	Silk princess painting	China	AD 600 - 800	BBC	BM
Inside the palace: secrets at court (AD 700 – 900) "An insight into the lives of the ruling elites 1200 years ago."
51	Maya relief of royal blood-letting	Mexico	AD 700 - 750	BBC	BM
52	Harem wall painting fragments	Iraq	AD 800 - 900	BBC	BM
53	Lothair Crystal	probably Germany	AD 855 - 869	BBC	BM
54	Statue of Tara	Sri Lanka	AD 700 - 900	BBC	BM
55	Chinese Tang tomb figures	China	about AD 728	BBC	BM
Pilgrims, raiders and traders (AD 800 – 1300) "How trade, war and religion moved objects around the globe 1000 years ago."
56	Vale of York Hoard	England	about AD 927	BBC	BM
57	Hedwig glass beaker	probably Syria	AD 1100 - 1200	BBC	BM
58	Japanese bronze mirror	Japan	AD 1100 - 1200	BBC	BM
59	Borobudur Buddha head	Java	AD 780 - 840	BBC	BM
60	Kilwa pot sherds	Tanzania	AD 900 - 1400	BBC	BM
Status symbols (AD 1100 – 1500) "Objects which hold status and required skilful making."
61	Lewis Chessmen	probably made in Norway, found in Scotland	AD 1150 - 1200	BBC	BM
62	Hebrew astrolabe	Spain	AD 1345 - 1355	BBC	BM
63	Ife head	Nigeria	AD 1400 - 1500	BBC	BM
64	The David Vases	China	AD 1351	BBC	BM
65	Taino ritual seat	Santa Domingo, Caribbean	AD 1200 - 1500	BBC	BM
Meeting the gods (AD 1200 – 1500) "Objects from the British Museum show how the faithful were brought closer to their gods."
66	Holy Thorn Reliquary	France	AD 1350 - 1400	BBC	BM
67	Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy	Turkey	AD 1350 - 1400	BBC	BM
68	Shiva and Parvati sculpture	India	AD 1100 - 1300	BBC	BM
69	Sculpture of Tlazolteotl	Mexico	AD 900 - 1521	BBC	BM
70	Hoa Hakananai'a	Easter Island	AD 1000 - 1200	BBC	BM
Week's title to be announced
71	Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent	Turkey		BBC	BM
72	Ming banknote	China		BBC	BM
73	Inca gold llama	Peru		BBC	BM
74	Jade dragon cup	Central Asia		BBC	BM
75	Dürer's 'Rhinoceros'	Germany		BBC	BM
Week's title to be announced
76	Mechanical galleon	Germany		BBC	BM
77	Benin plaque: the oba with Europeans	Nigeria		BBC	BM
78	Double-headed serpent	Mexico		BBC	BM
79	Kakiemon elephants	Japan		BBC	BM
80	Pieces of eight	from Spain, found in Bolivia		BBC	BM
Week's title to be announced
81	Shi'a religious parade standard	Iran		BBC	BM
82	Miniature of a Mughal prince	India		BBC	BM
83	Shadow puppet of Bima	Java		BBC	BM
84	Mexican codex map	Mexico		BBC	BM
85	Reformation centenary broadsheet	Germany		BBC	BM
Week's title to be announced
86	Asante drum	from Africa, found in the USA		BBC	BM
87	Hawaiian feather helmet	Hawaii		BBC	BM
88	North American buckskin map	USA		BBC	BM
89	Australian bark shield	Australia		BBC	BM
90	Jade bi with poem	China		BBC	BM
Week's title to be announced
91	Ship's chronometer from HMS Beagle	England		BBC	BM
92	Early Victorian tea set	England		BBC	BM
93	Hokusai's 'The Great Wave'	Japan		BBC	BM
94	Sudanese slit drum	Sudan		BBC	BM
95	Suffragette defaced penny	England		BBC	BM
Week's title to be announced
96	Russian revolutionary plate	Russia		BBC	BM
97	Hockney's 'In the dull village'	England		BBC	BM
98	Throne of Weapons	Mozambique		BBC	BM
99	Credit card	United Arab Emirates		BBC	BM
100	Mystery object, to be revealed in autumn 2010			BBC

Gallery

• 
  11: King Den's sandal label
• 
  12: Standard of Ur
• 
  17: A portion of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
• 
  19: The Mold gold cape
• 
  20: Statue of Ramesses II
• 
  22: Sphinx of Taharqo
• 
  33: The Rosetta Stone
• 
  36:The Warren Cup
• 
  39:Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace Ladies, a section of the scroll
• 
  44: Hinton St Mary Mosaic
• 
  47: The Sutton Hoo helmet
• 
  61: The Lewis Chessmen
• 
  64: The David Vases in Room 95 are said to be the best-known Chinese porcelains in the world.
• 
  67: Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
• 
  69: Sculpture of Tlazolteotl
• 
  70: Hoa Hakananai'a
• 
  75: Dürer's Rhinoceros
• 
  93: 'The Great Wave'

External links

• BBC Radio 4 A History of the World in 100 Objects website
• A History of the World in 100 Objects (BBC podcasts page)
• Review by Miranda Sawyer in The Observer
• Daily Mail article about the series