The History of the World in 100 Objects

A 100 part series by Neil MacGregor, made during his time as Director of the British Museum,

exploring world history from two million years ago to the present.

"A History of the World in 100 Objects was a joint project of BBC Radio 4 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 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 2010 and was broadcast over 20 weeks.[1] A book to accompany the series, A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor, was published by Allen Lane on 28 October 2010.[2] The entire series is also available for download along with an audio version of the book for purchase. The British Museum won the 2011 Art Fund Prize for its role in hosting the project."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_World_in_100_Objects

The Wikipedia page features a table showing each object, its origin and date, the BBC podcast link and the Museum page link, and links to additional contributors.

Explore the objects by theme or by gallery

BBC Podcast downloads

BBC Radio 4 - A History of the World in 100 Objects Omnibus - Available nowAvailable episodes of A History of the World in 100 Objects Omnibus

Object 91

Ship's chronometer from HMS Beagle Podcast at this BBC page

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship's_chronometer_from_HMS_Beagle

The Threshold of the Modern World (1375-1550 AD), A History of the World in 100 Objects - BBC Radio 4Neil MacGregor explores the great empires of the world in the threshold of the modern era.

Listen to the program online, download the mp3 file, and read the transcript on each object's podcast page

The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD), A History of the World in 100 Objects - BBC Radio 4Neil MacGregor traces the impact of travel, trade and conquest from 1450 to 1600.

Exploration, Exploitation and Enlightenment (1680 - 1820 AD), A History of the World in 100 Objects - BBC Radio 4Neil MacGregor on the misunderstandings that can happen when different worlds collide.

Neil MacGregor: 2600 years of history in one object

A clay cylinder covered in Akkadian cuneiform script, damaged and broken, the Cyrus Cylinder is a powerful symbol of religious tolerance and multi-culturalism. In this enthralling talk Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, traces 2600 years of Middle Eastern history through this single object.

"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.^[7]^"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_World_in_100_Objects#The_threshold_of_the_modern_world_(AD_1375%E2%80%931550)