A History of the World in 100 Objects

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum selected hundred objects from the museum and discussed each object in a separate chapter of a book with the above title.“Telling history through things is what museums are for.” According to the preface, the book is based on a series of programs on BBC radio broadcasted in 2010. The director of the program asked for selection of hundred objects that would have been collected to represent the earliest time in history all the way to present day (2010). The objects were supposed to be artistic like most of the objects in a museum, while dealing with everyday life that reflect many aspects of human experience. The objects were also supposed to have been collected from many different parts of the world, as varied in range as possible. Neil MacGregor followed the same idea in the book. He divided his book into twenty parts, each part discussing a separate subject matter through five objects, each object representing a chapter. These book, from beginning to the end, take us also through a time period, from two million years ago to two years ago. He tries to cover a variety of subjects which not only present human endeavor, strife, and progress through time, but also societies in different parts of the world and in selected periods. For someone who is interested in history, the slices of time selected are like traveling through time and stopping in certain period and at certain locations.

The first part of the book is titled “Making us Human”. One of the objects is described as Olduvai Hand axe that is estimated to belong to 1.3 to 1.4 million years ago. This is a volcanic rock that is shaped as the head of a spear to be used for hunting or cutting. The piece shows sharp edges created by striking it with another rock, and chipping the edges in order to create a sharp edge and a spiky point. This object is selected to show a pivotal point, when we could think abstract about an object and bring that object that was in our imagination, into life.

Part two is titled “After the Ice Age: Food and Sex”. The object in chapter 7 is called: AinSakhri Lovers Figurine, a stone sculpture that was found at WadiKhareitoun in Judea near Bethlehem. It is estimated to belong to the year 9,000 BC. The excavation was made in a cave and in a place that did not look like a burial place, but a dwelling where people used to live. According to the book; this dwelling belonged to people who were living at the dawn of agriculture. There are two people holding each other closely as if they are merging into each other. When cavemen did not have to spend all their effort in searching for foods, they had extra time for artistic innovations. Since they could have extra food produced by farming, the population grew and expressing love and emotion was exhibited in art. The author concludes his take in the social shifts expressed through this sculpture: it speaks to us absolutely directly, not as a document of a changing society but as an eloquent work of art. From the Aim sakhri lovers to Rodin’s sculpture “The Kiss” there are 11,000 years of human history, but not, I think, much change in human desire.

The First Cities and States are discussed in part three. One of the chapters is dedicated to an object called “Indus Seal” that is found in Indus Valley (Punjab in Pakistan) belonging to 2,500 to 2,000 years BC. The seal was a breakthrough as it instigated further search which resulted discovery of a lost civilization with many cities in Indus Valley, dating back to 3 to 2 thousand years BC. This large civilization suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth around 1,900 BC. Archeologists and scientists can only speculate that the reason was environmental, since the society seems to have been very peaceful and there is no trace of any human violence. It is believed that use of too much timber resulted deforestation, and environmental hazards wiped out living creatures. This may be our future if large industrialized societies keep damaging the environment as they have been so recklessly. However, this time the whole earth is in danger. Indus Valley civilization had unique features which is hard to find in any other old or present societies. According to Neil MacGregor: what’s left of these great Indus cities gives us no indication of a society engaged with, or threatened by, war. Not many weapons have been found, and the cities show no signs of being fortified. There are great communal buildings, but nothing that looks like a royal palace, and there seems to be little difference between the homes of the rich and the poor. It seems to be a quite different model of how to create an urban civilization, without celebration of violence or extreme concentration of individual power. Is it possible that these societies were based not on coercion but on consensus? We do not know the exact reason, but what we know is that the death of this great civilization was not caused by war or human grid, but by environmental degradation.

Part four is titled “The Beginning of Science and Literature”. One of the chapters in this part is dedicated to the statute of Ramesses II, who reigned in Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. The upper body of the statute is about 2.5 meters and weighs seven tons. Ramesses ordered the creation of a colossal statute of himself not only out of vanity, but to remind others of his greatness and the triumphs he made in his military campaigns. Egypt was very prosperous during his long kingdom, and every succeeding pharaoh worshipped him as a god. However, not long after his demise the country was taken over by Libyans, Nubians, Persians, Macedonians, and later by French and British (who attempted to steal this very statute). Finally, in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, British museum with the help of an antique dealer acquired this statute. Upon arriving of the statute in England, people were amazed of its greatness. According to the author: on arrival, it astounded everybody who saw it and began a revolution in how we Europeans view the history of our culture. The Ramesses in the British Museum was one of the first works to challenge long-held assumption that great art had begun in Greece.” This chapter ends with a poem that the great British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote upon seeing such monumental figure.

The title of part five is Old World, New Powers. Five artifacts are discussed in this section covering 1100 to 300 BC, each representing a part of the world with a new ruler taking over power. Political changes in Egypt, Iraq, China, Turkey and South America are discussed through objects.

The World in the Age of Confucius is part six which begins with an item from 500 to 300 BC named “Oxus Chariot Model”. The artifact was found near the Oxus River in the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It is a Persian chariot made of gold with the driver and a passenger who seems to be an important government official. This chapter is retelling of the history of Persian Empire 2,500 years ago, and its political and socioeconomic impact on the rest of the world. Dr. Michael Axworthy is quoted: up to that time they had generally been based on naked might being right; the Persian Empire was based on the principle of the iron fist in the velvet glove. The meaning of this statement is explained later, by clarifying the tolerance Persian government observed towards other cultures and religions. At first it discusses the chariot that the author calls Ferrari or Porsche of its time, and continues with the secure and reliable transportation system of the empire, unique and revolutionary for its time. This chapter of the book also contains a picture of the tomb of Cyrus, the first Persian emperor, and describes the empire he built that was the largest empire up to that time. However, the signature of his empire was his tolerance towards other races, customs, and religions. There is a quote from a historian in the book that: Persian occupation could be compared to a light morning mist settling over the contours of their empire- you were aware of it, but it was never obtrusive. To explain that, some identifying parts of the chariot is researched and signs of diversity are found from this very object. For example, the clothing of the passengers of the chariot are from the Medes, and the front of the chariot is marked with Bes, an Egyptian god. The book quotes again from Herodotus: No race is so ready to adopt foreign ways as the Persian; for instance, they wear the Median costume as they think it handsomer than their own, and their soldiers wear the Egyptian corselet. The idea of tolerance in this chapter is so ironic when compared with the present government of Iran!

Part seven discusses Empire Builders with artifacts from 300 BC to 10 AD. Five objects are analyzed in this part including Rosetta Stone. Pillar of Ashoka is a stone fragment from a pillar erected in Meerut, India. What is interesting about writing on this stone is the message it gives to people, as a public announcement. According to the book, such announcements have been erected throughout the empire. The author compares the government of Ashoka to the way Bhutan is governed today, which he claims to be according to Buddhist thinking. Michael Rutland is quoted in the book, who quotes again: ‘Throughout my reign I will never rule you as a king. I will protect you as a parent, care for you as a brother and serve you as a son.’ That could well have been written by the emperor Ashoka. But it wasn’t. it was an excerpt from the coronation speech, in 2008 of the 27-year-old fifth king of Bhutan. The fourth king, the king that I had the great privilege to teach, lived and continues to live in a small log cabin. There is no ostentation to the monarchy. He is probably the only example of an absolute monarch who has voluntarily persuaded his people to take away his powers and has instituted elective democracy. The fourth king also introduced the phrase ‘gross national happiness’ – to be a contrast to the concept of ‘gross national product’. Again, as Ashoka would have felt, the happiness and contentment of the people were more important than conquering other lands. The fifth king has very much followed the Buddhist precepts of monarchy.

Part eight; Ancient Pleasures, Modern Spice discusses historical values of five objects related to entertainment and food from the first century to the year 500. These items include a cup that depicts homosexual pleasures, a smoking pipe from North America in the shape of an otter, a ceremonial ballgame belt from Mexico, admonitions scroll of China as a form of art, and a Hoxne pepper pot found in England. Each one of these items reveals historical pleasures in art, game, food, and other material pleasures.

Part nine discusses The Rise of World Faiths from the year 100 to 600. A plate from Shapur II made from the year 309 to the year 379 occupies one of the chapters. The silver plate depicts a hunting scene of the king and his mission as an agent of god, since Sassanid kings were religious authorities as well as supreme power of the state. The religion of Sassanid emperors, Zoroastrianism is discussed in detail in this chapter.

Parts ten, eleven, and twelve cover from year 400 through 1300, with objects related to The Silk Road and Beyond, Inside the Palace: Secrets at Court, and Pilgrims, Raiders and Traders.

Part thirteen describes items dealing with Status Symbols. Ife Head is one of these items that is a brass status of a person (probably a ruler with a crown) from the city of Ife in Nigeria belonging to about 600 years ago. The book explains that because of the excellent artwork and attention to details, the finder of the statute (probably regarding Africans not worthy of having the ability to create such art) associated it to Greek art! According to the source, there were about 30 of such sculptures discovered in Ife which was the center of Ooni rulers of 600 years ago. This sculpture and others present an advance civilization in a society that has been disregarded by the invaders as nomads. The author touches upon this discriminating attitude and sums up: The discovery of the art of Ife is a textbook example of a widespread cultural and political phenomenon: that as we discover our past, so we discover ourselves – and more. To become what we want to be, we have to decide what we were. Like individuals, nations and states define and redefine themselves by revisiting their histories, and the sculptures of Ife are now markers of a distinctive national and regional identity.

One of the chapters of the next part, part fourteen: Meeting the Gods, describes a subject titled Hoa Hakananai’ an Easter Island Statute. As it was discussed in previous part, this object represents a culture that has been discounted by Europeans, who had no mercy in plundering occupants' belongings. It is about accomplishments of a society that was looked at as primitive and nomad. A small island with a population of less than 15,000 people created more than a thousand of these statutes. When Europeans reached Rapa Nui in Easter Island in 1722: they were astonished to find a large population already established. Even more astonishing were the objects inhabitants had made. These statutes are definitely some works of art. The back of this specific statute shows rituals related to Birdman Cult. After the intrusion by Europeans, islanders’ destiny was totally changed: The Easter Islanders seem to have adapted reasonably well to their changing ecological circumstances, as Polynesians have always had to. But in the nineteenth century there were challenges of a completely different order – from across the sea came slavery, disease and Christianity. People of Rapa Nui – Easter Island – did not have the savagery of the new arrivals, and the inhabitants were treated the same way, which was the same case as any other island Europeans entered in Pacific Ocean.

The Threshold of the Modern World is the next part that covers years between 1375 and 1550. One of the items is an Inca Gold Llama, which is rare since every golden object Europeans found was melted down. In fact, it is a symbol of a society who was demolished because of its gold. Since there was no written script, Inca’s culture can only be revealed through objects and European invaders’ diaries. However, Incas were astonishingly progressed in their urban civilization: Around 500 years ago the empire of the Incas was bigger than Ottoman Turkey, bigger than Ming China – in fact, it was the largest empire in the world.

Part sixteen is titled The First Global Economy. One of the chapters represents Benin Plaque: The Oba with Europeans that is a brass plaque from Nigeria made between sixteenth and seventeenth century. The mastery in making Benin plaques is examined and a Nigerian writer is quoted: African society actually produced some great civilizations, established some great cultures, and today it contributes to one’s sense of the degradation that has overtaken many African societies, to the extent that we forget that we were once a functioning people before the negative incursion of foreign powers.

Part seventeen is titled Tolerance and Intolerance that begins with a Shi’a Religious Parade Standard from Iran dated between 1650 and 1700. This object is presented in order to depict the time of Safavid Dynasty and its tolerance towards other cultures and religions. Although this dynasty was the one in which the sect of Shi’a Islam was introduced as a state religion (versus prior Sunni religion) other religions were practiced throughout the empire, especially during Shah Abbas’ reign. This change of state religion coincides with Tudor England becoming officially Protestant and separated from Catholic Spain, as Safavid separated themselves from Sunni governments. Shah Abbas brought craftsmen from different countries and traded with many countries in the east and the west: Visiting Europeans were astonished by this active religious tolerance, with Christians and Jews, each with their own places of worship, peacefully accommodated within a Muslim state – a level of religious diversity unthinkable in Christian Europe at the time. It is curious how a government can be so much intolerant of other sects or religions while 3.5 centuries before that all faiths were welcomed. Another example in this part is an object called Mexican Codex Map from 16^th century that discloses some interesting facts about the Aztec empire. It also reflects the intolerance of Spanish invaders who took over their lands and pillaged their belongings and forced them to convert to Christianity. Finally, they destroyed their temples and built their churches on the top of them: The local people kept their own languages – and, for the most part, their own land, although with them meant that much land was freed up for the new settlers from Spain. The object in this chapter shows us something of how the complex amalgamation of faiths took place, and in it we can see both Spanish imperial methods and the resilience of local tradition.

Exploration, Exploitation and Enlightenment is the title of the next part with objects from 1680 to 1820.

Part nineteen; titled Mass Production, Mass Persuasion contains very interesting statement in its introduction page, describing the time when capitalism replaced feudalism: Between the French Revolution and the First World War the countries of Europe and the USA were transformed from agricultural to industrial economies. At the same time, their empires around the world grew, providing many of the raw materials and the markets these booming industries required. Eventually all of Asia and Africa were compelled to become part of the new economic and political order. Technological innovation led to mass production of goods and growing international trade: consumer goods that had previously been luxuries, such as tea, became widely affordable to the masses. In many countries, mass movements campaigned for political and social reforms, including the right for all men and women to be able to vote. Only one non-western country, Japan, successfully, in involuntarily, embraced modernization and emerged as an imperial power in its own right.

Part twenty, The World of Our Making, examines objects from 1914 to 2010. These objects include a Russian Revolutionary Plate manufactured in 1921, a drawing created in 1966 in England, a credit card dated 2009 from UAE, a solar powered lamp and charger manufactured in China in 2010, and a chair titled “Throne of Weapons” created in Mozambique in 2001. This object is an art form in the shape of a chair or a throne as the artist calls it. It is made of weapons or parts of weapons, all imported. This throne is probably made for those who create wars for self-achievement and personal profit and power, to sit on it and enjoy the scene of the killing field. It has been the history of the twentieth century that started and ended in wars. 21^st century has been the scene of a new war every so often, which may overpass the 20^th century in its brutality and disregard for human being and for the environment. Going back to the last century: These closing chapters of our history chart the fading of empires that flourished and grew throughout the nineteenth century and the rise of new global ideologies and national identities. Nowhere has this been played out so bloodily as in post-colonial Africa. The late nineteenth-century ‘Scramble for Africa’ resulted in the parceling up of the continent among Britain, France and Portugal as the leading colonial powers, alongside Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium. After the Second World War there were moves throughout the continent for independence, and from 1960 onwards it was gradually achieved. But this separation from European powers was usually bitterly fought over; and because independence was so often attained only after fighting, it frequently contributed to great internal problems for the new states, including civil war. The imperial power however has not diminished, and throughout 20^th century and this century the superpowers created quot-d-tat in various parts of the world in order to install their puppet governments. With the most vicious politicians in power, neo-liberals, an all-out war on countries that did not submit to the military power has been waged, that continues through this day in Syria. Fighting for independence is a few hundred years old struggle that started in a new shape and form as internal uprising in Iran, and then in what is called “Arab Spring”.

Neil MacGregor ends this book with an interesting final thought, which I am copying here as the final thought of this article: Above all, I hope this book has shown that the ‘family of man’ is not an empty metaphor; however dysfunctional that family usually is; that all humanity has the same needs and preoccupations, fears, and hopes. Objects force us to the humble recognition that since our ancestors left East Africa to populate the world we have changed very little. Whether in stone or paper, gold, feather or silicon, it is certain we will go on making objects that shape or reflect our world and that will define us to future generation.