BBC: A History of the World in 100 Objects.

1. Making Us Human (2,000,000 – 9000 BC)

1.1/5 Mummy of Hornedjitef
Neil MacGregor retells humanity’s history through the objects it has made.

1.2/5 Olduvai Stone Chopping Tool
Every object has a story; Neil MacGregor continues his material history of human society.

1.3/5 Olduvai Handaxe
Neil MacGregor continues his history of human society with the story of a handaxe.

1.4/5 Swimming Reindeer
Neil MacGregor investigates how humanity’s development is reflected in the things it makes.

1.5/5 Clovis Spear Point
Neil MacGregor reveals how man-made objects reflect the story of human development.

2. After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 – 3500 BC)

2.1/5 Bird-shaped Pestle
Neil MacGregor reveals how man-made objects reflect the story of human development

2.2/5 Ain Sakri Lovers Figuerine
Neil MacGregor’s material history of human society – the story of two lovers

2.3/5 Egyptian Clay Model of Cattle
Neil MacGregor tells the colourful tale of four Egyptian clay cows older than the pyramids

2.4/5 Maya Maize God Statue
Neil MacGregor discovers how the early Mayans of Central America created a god out of food

2.5/5 Jomon Pot
Neil MacGregor tells the story of a 7,000-year-old Japanese pot and a forgotten people

3. The First Cities and States (4000 – 2000 BC)

3.1/5 King Den’s Sandal Label
Neil MacGregor’s world history told through objects. Today, a great Pharaoh’s sandal label

3.2/5 Standard of Ur
Neil MacGregor’s global history told through objects. Today, battle scenes from Iraq.

3.3/5 Indus Seal
Neil MacGregor’s global history told through objects – stone seals from the Indus Valley.

3.4/5 Jade Axe
Neil MacGregor’s global history told through objects – a 6,000-year-old axe found in Kent.

3.5/5 Early Writing
Neil MacGregor explores early writing through a 5,000-year-old tablet about beer!

4. The Beginning of Science and Literature (1500 – 700 BC)

4.1/5 Flood tablet
Neil MacGregor’s world history – an account of a great flood much older than the Bible.

4.2/5 Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
Neil MacGregor describes man’s early calculations on an Egyptian papyrus fragment

4.3/5 Minoan Bull Leaper
Neil MacGregor’s history arrives at a Minoan treasure and a dangerous hobby from 1700 BC

4.4/5 Mold Gold Cape
Neil MacGregor tells the story of a gold cape found in Wales and made over 3500 years ago.

4.5/5 Statue of Ramesses
The world of Egypt as ruled by Ramesses II and told through one of his giant statues

5. Old World, New Powers (1100 – 300 BC)

5.1/5 Lachish Reliefs
Neil MacGregor’s world history continues with images of war made over 2500 years ago

5.2/5 Sphinx of Taharqo
Neil MacGregor’s history of the world told through objects; a sphinx with a pharaoh’s head

5.3/5 Chinese Zhou Ritual Vessel
Neil MacGregor’s world history told through objects arrives in China 3000 years ago

5.4/5 Paracas Textile Fragment
Neil MacGregor’s world history through objects. Today: ancient textiles from Peru

5.5/5 Gold Coin of Croesus
Neil MacGregor’s retelling of history through objects – gold coins of Croesus

6. The World in the Age of Confucius (500 – 300 BC)

6.1/5 Oxus Chariot Model
Neil MacGregor tells the story of a tiny gold chariot from ancient Persia.

6.2/5 Parthenon Sculpture: Centaur + Lapith
Neil MacGregor with some of the world’s most disputed objects – the Parthenon sculptures

6.3/5 Basse Yutz Flagons
Neil MacGregor continues his material history of humanity, with the early Celts.

6.4/5 Olmec Stone Mask
Neil MacGregor’s history of the world tells of a forgotten people of ancient Mexico.

6.5/5 Chinese Bronze Bell
Neil Macgregor tells the story of a Chinese bronze bell from the age of Confucius

7. Empire Builders (300 BC – AD 10)

7.1/5 Head of Alexander
Neil MacGregor is with the great rulers of the world over 2000 years ago.

7.2/5 Pillar of Ashoka
Neil MacGregor on the life and legacy of the great Indian ruler Ashoka

7.3/5 Rosetta Stone
Neil MacGregor with one of the past’s most recognisable objects; the Rosetta Stone

7.4/5 Chinese Han lacquer cup
Neil MacGregor’s world history told through objects arrives in Han Dynasty China

7.5/5 Head of Augustus
The 2000 year old bronze head of one of the world’s most famous rulers – Caesar Augustus

8. Ancient Pleasures, Modern Spice (1 – 600 AD)

8.1/5 Warren Cup
Neil MacGregor and a Roman silver cup with the power to shock.

8.2/5 North American otter pipe
Neil MacGregor and a 2,000-year-old stone pipe from North America.

8.3/5 Ceremonial ballgame belt
Neil MacGregor discovers the oldest ball game on earth.

8.4/5 Admonitions Scroll
Neil MacGregor and an ancient Chinese scroll that rules on how women should behave.

8.5/5 Hoxne pepper pot
Neil MacGregor uses a silver pepper pot to tell of the Roman spice trade with India.

9. The Rise of World Faiths (200 – 600 AD)

9.1/5 Seated Buddha from Gandhara
Neil MacGregor with one of world religion’s most iconic images – the Buddha.

9.2/5 Gold coin of Kumaragupta I
Neil MacGregor with gold coins from North India.

9.3/5 Silver plate showing Shapur II
Neil MacGregor, with a dramatic image of power and faith from ancient Iran.

9.4/5 Hinton St Mary Mosaic
Neil MacGregor encounters one of the earliest images of Christ.

9.5/5 Arabian bronze hand
A mysterious bronze hand tells the story of religious belief in Arabia before Islam.

10. The Silk Road And Beyond (400 – 700 AD)

10.1/5 Gold Coins of Abd al-Malik
Neil MacGregor with gold coins from Syria and the transformation of the Middle East.

10.2/5 Sutton Hoo helmet
Neil MacGregor with one of the most sensational finds from Anglo-Saxon Britain.

10.3/5 Moche warrior pot
Neil MacGregor with a warrior figure from a lost people of Peru.

10.4/5 Korean roof tile
Neil MacGregor delves into the history of an artefact from Korea.

10.5/5 Silk princess painting
Neil MacGregor continues his history of the world with a painting from the Silk Road.

11. Inside The Palace: Secrets At Court (700 – 950 AD)

11.1/5 Maya relief of royal blood-letting
Neil Macgregor with a disturbing, bloody image from the ancient Mayan civilisation

11.2/5 Harem wall painting fragments
Neil MacGregor with mysterious faces from the harem in an ancient city north of Baghdad

11.3/5 Lothair Crystal
Neil MacGregor with an engraved crystal and royal intrigue at the heart of Europe

11.4/5 Statue of Tara
Neil MacGregor with a beguiling statue of the Buddhist deity Tara

11.5/5 Chinese Tang tomb figures
Neil MacGregor with a collection of tomb figures from Tang dynasty China

12. Pilgrims, Raiders and Traders (900 – 1300 AD)

12.1/5 Vale of York Hoard
Neil Macgregor with a great Viking hoard from the Vale of York.

12.2/5 Hedwig glass beaker
Neil MacGregor with a glass vessel linked with a saintly miracle worker.

12.3/5 Japanese bronze mirror
Neil MacGregor with a bronze mirror from a sacred pond in Japan.

12.4/5 Borobudur Buddha head
Neil MacGregor with a head of the Buddha from Borobudur.

12.5/5 Kilwa pot sherds
Neil MacGregor – unlocking secrets with broken pots from East Africa.

13. Status Symbols (1200 – 1400 AD)

13.1/5 Lewis Chessmen
Neil Macgregor’s history through objects – today the famous Lewis chessmen.

13.2/5 Hebrew astrolabe
Neil MacGregor with an extraordinary astronomical instrument.

13.3/5 Ife head
Neil MacGregor with a magnificent brass head from the African city of Ife.

13.4/5 The David Vases
Neil MacGregor – and the transformation of ordinary clay into beautiful Chinese porcelain.

13.5/5 Taino ritual seat
Neil MacGregor with a ritual seat from a Caribbean culture that has been destroyed.

14. Meeting The Gods (1200 – 1400 AD)

14.1/5 Holy Thorn Reliquary
Neil MacGregor with a reliquary made for a thorn from Christ’s crown of thorns.

14.2/5 Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
Neil MacGregor with a 14th century icon from the Byzantine Empire.

14.3/5 Shiva and Parvati sculpture
Neil MacGregor with a stone sculpture of the Hindu deity Shiva and his consort Parvati.

14.4/5 Statue of Huastec goddess
Neil MacGregor with the sculpture of a goddess made by the Huastec people of Mexico.

14.5/5 Hoa Hakananai’a Easter Island statue
Neil MacGregor with one of the extraordinary giant figures from Easter Island.

15. The Threshold of the Modern World (1375-1550 AD)

15.1/5 Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent
Neil Macgregor with the personal monogram of Suleyman the Magnificent.

15.2/5 Ming banknote
Neil MacGregor with a 14th century bank note – from Ming Dynasty China.

15.3/5 Inca gold llama
Neil MacGregor with a model of a llama – the animal behind the Inca Empire.

15.4/5 Jade dragon cup
Neil MacGregor with a jade cup that belonged a great leader of the Timurid Empire.

15.5/5 Durer’s Rhinoceros
Neil MacGregor with Durer’s extraordinary image of a rhino – an animal he had never seen.

16. The First Global Economy (1450 – 1600 AD)

16.1/5 The mechanical galleon
Neil Macgregor with a clockwork galleon designed for a grand dinner table.

16.2/5 Benin plaque – the Oba with Europeans
Neil MacGregor with some of the best examples of African art, the great plaques of Benin.

16.3/5 Double-headed serpent
Neil MacGregor with one of the stars of the British Museum – an Aztec serpent

16.4/5 Kakiemon elephants
Neil MacGregor with porcelain white elephants from Japan.

16.5/5 Pieces of eight
Neil MacGregor with the first truly global money – silver pieces of eight.

17. Tolerance and Intolerance (AD 1550-1700)

17.1/5 Shi’a Religious Parade Standard
Neil Macgregor with a powerful symbol from Shia Iran.

17.2/5 Miniature of a Mughal Prince
Neil MacGregor with a miniature painting from Mughal India.

17.3/5 Shadow Puppet of Bima
Neil MacGregor explores religion and politics in South East Asia through a shadow puppet.

17.4/5 Mexican Codex Map
Neil MacGregor explores the Spanish religious conquest of Mexico with a map.

17.5/5 Reformation Centenary Broadsheet
Neil MacGregor with a souvenir of the 100th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

18. Exploration, Exploitation and Enlightenment (AD 1680-1820)

18.1/5 Akan Drum
Neil MacGregor with an African drum taken to America during the slave trade

18.2/5 Hawaiian feather helmet
Neil MacGregor with a feathered helmet given to Captain Cook by Pacific Islanders.

18.3/5 North American Buckskin Map
Neil MacGregor with a buckskin map from North America

18.4/5 Australian Bark Shield
Neil MacGregor with a bark shield brought from Australia by Captain Cook

18.5/5 Jade bi
Neil MacGregor with an object from the 18th-century Chinese Enlightenment – a jade disc

19. Mass Production, Mass Persuasion (1780 – 1914 AD)

19.1/5 Ship’s chronometer from HMS Beagle
Neil MacGregor with a chronometer that accompanied Darwin to South America.

19.2/5 Early Victorian tea set
Neil MacGregor tells the story of the global trade in tea – with a Victorian tea set.

19.3/5 Hokusai’s The Great Wave
Neil MacGregor with a familiar image – Hokusai’s The Great Wave.

19.4/5 Sudanese slit drum
Neil MacGregor with a wooden drum from Sudan that Kitchener presented to Queen Victoria.

19.5/5 Suffragette-defaced penny
Neil MacGregor with a penny coin defaced by suffragettes with the words “Votes for women”.

20. The World of Our Making (1914 – 2010 AD)

20.1/5 Russian revolutionary plate
Neil MacGregor nears the end of his world history – with a Russian revolutionary plate.

20.2/5 Hockney’s In the Dull Village
Neil MacGregor considers the state of human rights – with a David Hockney print.

20.3/5 Throne of Weapons
Neil MacGregor with an African throne – made from decommissioned guns.

20.4/5 Credit card
Neil MacGregor with a credit card – one that is compliant with Sharia law.

20.5/5 Solar-powered lamp and charger
Neil MacGregor’s last object in his world history – a solar-powered lamp and charger.