A History of the World in 100 Objects Free

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We use cookies to make our website work more efficiently, to provide you with more personalised services or advertising to you, and to analyse traffic on our website. For more information on how we use cookies and how to manage cookies, please follow the 'Read more' link, otherwise select 'Accept and close'. Please note only certain galleries on the Lower and Ground floors A History of the World in 100 Objects open to visitors. Our trails will take you on fascinating tours, highlighting the most popular objects on display and covering a variety of themes. Skip to main content Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience. Read more about our cookie policy Accept and close the cookie policy. Object trails. The Royal Game of Ur on Collection online. You are in the Visit section Home Visit Object trails. Share the page Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Visiting information Plan your visit. View the Museum map. Choose from a selection of object trails around the Museum. One hour at the Museum This trail will take you on a whirlwind tour of the history of the world. Collecting and empire trail Learn how colonial relationships shaped the British Museum's collection. Twelve objects to see with children From ancient armour to mummies, travel back in time on this captivating trail. Three hours at the A History of the World in 100 Objects This three-hour trail showcases the most popular objects on display. Death, memory, meaning This trail examines the stories behind grave goods found in British prehistoric graves. You may also be interested in. Audio guide This guide will help you make the most of your visit — available in 10 languages. Out-of-hours tours Enjoy exclusive out-of-hours tours before the gates open to the public, including spotlights on Egypt, Greece and China. Object trails | British Museum

In minute presentations broadcast on weekdays on Radio 4MacGregor used 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 and was broadcast over 20 weeks. The programme series, described as "a landmark project", [6] 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 else's, 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 other museum collections across the UK. The museum has adapted exhibitions for the series by including additional easily identifiable plaques for the objects with text based on the programme and adding a section to the gallery maps showing the location and numbers of the objects. The first part of the series was broadcast on weekdays over six weeks between 18 January and 26 February After a short break, the series returned with the seventh week being broadcast in the week beginning 17 May Maev Kennedy of The Guardian described the programme as "a broadcasting phenomenon", while Tim Davie, head of music and audio at BBC radio, commented that "the results have been nothing short of stunning", exceeding the BBC's wildest hopes for the A History of the World in 100 Objects. At the time of the writing of Kennedy's article, just before the start of the last week of the series, the radio broadcasts regularly had up to four million listeners, while the podcast downloads had totalled 10, Of these, just over half, 5. In addition, members of the public had uploaded 3, objects with the largest single contribution coming from Glasgow historian Robert Pool who submitted objects all relating to the City of Glasgow, and other museums a further 1, and museums and heritage sites across the UK had been mounting linked events — an unprecedented partnership, MacGregor said. Museums all over the world are now copying the formula, as thousands of visitors every day set out to explore the British Museum galleries equipped with the leaflet mapping the objects. It is such a beautifully simple idea, to trace A History of the World in 100 Objects civilisations through the objects that happen to have survived. Each programme, just 15 minutes long, focuses on just one thing, quite patiently, without dawdling. At the end, you feel that you have learnt something, and learnt it with pleasure and interest. For years to come, the BBC will be able to point to this wonderful A History of the World in 100 Objects as an example of the things that it does best. It fulfils, to a degree that one thought hardly possible any more, the BBC's Reithian agenda A History of the World in 100 Objects improvement and the propagation of learning and culture. Dominic Sandbrook in The Telegraph said that the "joyously highbrow" series "deserves to take its place alongside television classics such as Kenneth Clark 's Civilisation and Jacob Bronowski 's The Ascent of Man. Clues remain in objects left behind. Five objects tell the story. This week he is with the great rulers of the world around 2, years ago. A special radio programme on Radio 4, first broadcast on 18 Mayfeatured one of the many thousands of items nominated on the BBC website by members of the public as an object of special significance. The painting, which belonged to Lewis' uncle, Bryn Roberts, was painted from a postcard photograph of Roberts' girlfriend and later wifePeggy Gullup, by an anonymous Jewish artist for Roberts whilst he was a prisoner of war at Auschwitz in Poland. The chairman of the panel of judges, Michael Portillonoted that the judges were "particularly impressed by the truly global scope of the British Museum's project, which combined intellectual rigour and open heartedness, and went far beyond the boundaries of the museum's walls". During and a touring exhibition of many of the one hundred objects, also titled History of the World in Objectswas held in a number of countries and territories, including Australia, A History of the World in 100 Objects, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, and China first at the National Museum of China in Beijing, and then at Shanghai Museum. Some controversial exhibits were excluded from the exhibition in some countries. Object 90 Jade bi with poem was not included in the exhibition held in China because it may have been looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. In addition, a piece of Chinese brocade that had been included in the touring exhibition elsewhere was not included in the exhibition in China because it was collected from the Mogao Caves by Aurel Stein under controversial circumstances. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Times Online. British Museum. Leigh Holmwood 28 January The Guardian. Louise Jury 28 January London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 30 January Retrieved 18 September The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 18 January Retrieved 18 January Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 18 December Shanghai Daily. Retrieved 21 June The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April Retrieved 10 June The Independent. The Telegraph. Archived from the A History of the World in 100 Objects on 23 September Retrieved 2 October Archived from the original on 28 September BBC Radio 4. Jewish Chronicle. The Art Fund. Archived from the original on 19 June Retrieved 15 June Retrieved 29 January China Daily. BBC World Service. Albanian Romanian Polish. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View A History of the World in 100 Objects. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Wikimedia Commons. Mummy of Hornedjitef. Olduvai GorgeTanzania. Sir David AttenboroughWangari Maathai. Swimming Reindeer from Montastruc rock shelter. Ain Sakhri lovers. Marc QuinnIan Hodder. Clay model of cattle. Maya maize god statue. Toby WilkinsonSteve Bell. Lamia Al-GailaniAnthony Giddens. Richard RogersNayanjot Lahiri. Jadeite axe. Gus O'DonnellJohn Searle. Rhind Mathematical Papyrus. Minoan Bull-leaper. Statue of Ramesses II. Paddy AshdownAntony Beevor. Sphinx of Taharqa. Early Zhou dynasty gui ritual vessel. Oxus chariot model. Michael AxworthyTom Holland. Parthenon sculpture: Centaur and A History of the World in 100 Objects. Mary BeardOlga Palagia. Jonathan MeadesBarry Cunliffe. Olmec stone mask. Carlos A History of the World in 100 ObjectsKarl Taube. Chinese bronze bell. BBC Radio 4 - A History of the World in Objects

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in Objects takes a bold, original approach to human history, exploring past civilizations through the objects that defined them. Encompassing a grand sweep of human history, A History of the World in Objects begins with one of the earliest surviving objects made by human hands, a chopping tool from the Olduvai gorge in Africa Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in Objects takes a bold, original approach to human history, exploring past civilizations through the objects that defined them. Encompassing a grand sweep of human history, A History of the World in Objects begins with one of the earliest surviving objects made by human hands, a chopping tool from the Olduvai gorge A History of the World in 100 Objects Africa, and ends with objects which characterise the world we live in today. Seen through MacGregor's eyes, history is a kaleidoscope - shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising, and shaping our world A History of the World in 100 Objects in ways that most of us have never imagined. A stone pillar tells us about a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance to his people; Spanish pieces of eight tell us about the beginning of a global currency; and an early Victorian tea-set speaks to us about the impact of empire. An intellectual and visual feast, this is one of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years. Get A Copy. HardcoverFirst Editionpages. More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about A History of the World in Objectsplease sign up. What age group is this aimed at? I am thinking of my 13 year old history and trivia loving daughter. Stephen Simpson If she really loves history, I think this would be a great book for her. See 1 question about A History of the World in Objects…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of A History of the World in Objects. I visited the British Museum recently. Due to the shortage of time, I decided to take the one-hour tour suggested by the brochure: a visit to ten objects separated across various galleries, spanning historical space and time. Even though it was A History of the World in 100 Objects good introduction, and gave me a taste of the museum as a whole, I was strangely dissatisfied: it was rather like cramming for an exam where you end up with a lot of bits of disjointed knowledge. As we were leaving the museum, I asked my brother-in-law I visited the British Museum recently. As we were leaving the museum, I asked my brother-in-law who is settled in England what book I should buy from the museum, and he suggested the tome under discussion. He had listened to the original BBC radio series and liked it very much. Well, I have to thank him, because this book opened up a whole new vista on how we should view objects in a museum, and why my whirlwind tour left me disappointed. Well, I will be better informed during my next visit. How does one look at objects in a museum? When I enter a museum, I usually wander around just gawking at the display and reading the info on the more interesting ones. Or, if I know about something specific that the museum is famous for like the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum or the Narmer Palette in the Cairo MuseumI make a beeline for the object and spend some time gazing in reverential awe at it. Neil MacGregor has taught me that I have been doing it all wrong. A museum is a history book although a taciturn one and once you have learnt the language of objects, a really fascinating one. Because unlike history written by humans, which can be true, embellished or outright lies, the history told by objects can never be false. But we have to tease it out of them: the effort has to be there on our part. Otherwise, any trip to the museum becomes just a sightseeing tour. In the preface and introduction, the author talks about the many challenges: the main one absent from the book! But then, he realised that this is also one of the strengths-because the listener is forced to use his imagination, not only for the object, but also for the story behind it. That is what one has to do while reading this book. Let the imagination roam free across space and time: as MacGregor describes the object, puts it in its historical context, and pulls in experts from various fields like art, literature, history etc. The book is written in small chapters of pages each, five chapters one working week of five days forming a common theme. This structure is easily accessible, even to the miniscule attention spans engendered by TV shows and the internet. The book can be read through in one sitting, or savoured as small tidbits over A History of the World in 100 Objects long period. However one does it, it does not lose its efficacy. MacGregor starts with one A History of the World in 100 Objects the most A History of the World in 100 Objects objects in A History of the World in 100 Objects museum - the mummy of Hornedjitef —as a curtain raiser. The remaining 99 chapters are largely chronological, spanning countries and continents over defined time bands the author has selected as historical themes. In the earlier chapters, these time bands are large, spanning millenniums: then they narrow down to centuries and finally to decades as history becomes more crowded and compressed. And we see mankind, which has been existing as isolated pockets of civilisation, slowly expand and get connected. For me, the most fascinating thing about this book was not the stories told by the objects, but what they left unsaid: I found myself musing about the people, long dead and gone, who must have handled these objects, many a time little knowing they would they would be enshrined and viewed by millions. For example, look at the Kilwa pot sherds Chapter 60 from Tanzania: the housewife or maid who handled them- what might have they been like? What were they thinking as they washed, dried and cooked in these utensils? What would have gone through their minds when they finally threw them away? And most importantly the ordinary objects we throw away now — A History of the World in 100 Objects they carry a similar message in a museum in, say, the year ? It is obvious that these are important objects, religiously and culturally; yet the culture remains a mystery to us. Once again, we can only recreate in our mind the ceremonies which might have been conducted with these objects holding positions of importance. Even though these objects are known to any educated person, MacGregor puts them in a new context and new light so that one learns to look at them anew. I agree. Each object sings a A History of the World in 100 Objects tune: sometimes happy, sometimes sad, and sometimes even creepy. Put together, they create a beautiful symphony — the song of humanity, separated by time and space, over a million different worlds. This book opened my ears to that music. Museum visits A History of the World in 100 Objects never be the same again! View all 26 comments. Jan 29, Mark Lawrence rated it really liked it. This is a book I've A History of the World in 100 Objects reading for a year at least. I think I got it for Christmas It's divided into sections so it's ideal for dipping in to. It starts with objects of great antiquity from pre- history and moves forward, ending up with an object from There are black and white pictures of each object and periodically a bunch of coloured pages with photos of the items too. The objects are interesting and well chosen to illustrate the cultures they came from and the changing techno This is a book I've been reading for a year at least. The objects A History of the World in 100 Objects interesting and well chosen to illustrate the cultures they came from and the changing technologies, beliefs, and challenges of the people who made them. If you regard the pieces as academic then they're pretty engaging. It's an informative book, well written, wide ranging. If you're interested in history, both on the broadest scales and in considerable pin-point detail, then this is the book for you. If you're not really that bothered -then you may not get very far with A History of the World in 100 Objects. It did encourage me to write a small piece in the same style for an object form the Broken Empire the world my books are set inwhich later helped me secure a gig writing for a multi-player Xbox game where a portion of the world building is delivered through the history of discovered objects. Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter prizes View all 6 comments. Like me. Shelves: historyreviewsreviewed. I always have a kitchen book, it sits there waiting for me to have to do something or other that requires little concentration and then I read a bit. So while my immersion blender is immersed, on the whisk is automatically frothing, or I am just absent-mindedly munching away and pretending I'm not eating view spoiler [because it's always fattening food I pretend I'm not eating, when it's cauliflower florets I'm all boastful to myself, look how I'm such a healthy eater! I like very heavy books for my kitchen books, ones that do better read slowly and digested rather than racing through the story, and this book was ideal.