Neil MacGregor — A History of the World in 100 Objects

273 published claims from this book.

• 2,000 years ago, select community members were buried in mounds in North America.
• A bureaucracy was essential for maintaining power in the Ottoman Empire.
• A pound of frankincense cost a Roman laborer’s monthly salary.
• A socialist regime produced luxury goods for capitalists while undermining them.
• A tiny network of merchants controlled all European commercial speculation
• A tughra serves as an emblem of authority in the Ottoman Empire.
• Akan drums were used to uplift enslaved individuals on ships and plantations.
• Akan ethnicity drove key Suriname slave rebellions
• Alexander the Great began his conquest of Persia in 334 BC.
• Amber beads from the Mold Cape site originated from the Baltic region.
• Ancient agricultural practices improved maize’s digestibility over centuries.
• Ancient ball games symbolized the struggle between life and death.
• Ancient diets included substances hard for us to digest, requiring adaptation.
• Ancient Egyptians utilized battery-farming methods for geese.
• Around 1425, the Chinese government suspended paper money.
• Around 600 ancient mirrors were discovered in a sacred pond in Japan.
• Ashoka attacked Kalinga, leading to his profound remorse.
• Ashoka inspired prominent figures like Gandhi and Nehru.
• Ashoka rejected war as state policy in favor of human benevolence.
• Ashoka’s ideas have influenced Indian political philosophy significantly.
• Augustus imitated Alexander to represent imperial power in Rome.
• Augustus’s glory is overshadowed by his capture and humiliation.
• Automata advanced early scientific experimentation in the sixteenth century.
• Automata reflect the ideal of a harmonious early modern state.
• Berserkers were Norse soldiers known for wild violence.
• Biblical legends may be based on shared Middle Eastern myths.
• Bishops were significant powers in medieval European society and warfare.
• Borobudur is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.
• Bronze for the sculpture was sourced from Cyprus and eastern Turkey.
• Changes in sea level allowed animals to migrate to the Americas.
• Changes to the drum’s design altered its sound and meaning.
• China under the Qing Dynasty was seen as the best-governed empire.
• China’s historical gift-giving reflects in its modern diplomatic practices.
• Chinese bells measured standard weights and volumes in ancient commerce.
• Chinese blue pigment cobalt was used to cater to Iranian taste.
• Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism started depicting deities in human form around the same time.
• Climate change caused the collapse of the Moche state around AD 600.
• Climate changes facilitated human migration into the Americas.
• Climate influenced the use of pipes instead of cigars in North America.
• Clovis points are the earliest evidence of humans in North America.
• Coinage developed independently in China and Lydia around 3,000 years ago.
• Cook’s peaceful visit was reversed by changing seasonal deities and local sentiments.
• Cooking maize is essential to release its nutrients.
• Creating objects allowed humans to adapt and spread geographically.
• Croesus established the first reliable currency, setting the gold standard.
• Cultural adaptation enabled people to eventually drink cows’ milk without illness.
• Cyrus allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem after Babylonian captivity.
• Deciphering hieroglyphs was facilitated by the coexistence of pictorial and phonetic symbols.
• Depicting Christ’s likeness transformed European visual culture.
• Desertification forced ancient humans to domesticate cattle as a food resource.
• Different cultures use religious objects to connect with the divine
• Discovering past arts influences national and regional identity formation.
• Dürer’s print of the rhinoceros sold around 4,000–5,000 copies in his lifetime.
• Dürer’s woodcut print of a rhinoceros dates to 1515.
• Each flagon contains at least 120 pieces of coral.
• Egyptian pharaohs organized monumental projects through extraordinary control over their subjects.
• Empire and wealth foster the development of stable religions and art forms.
• Enlightenment dialogues led to cultural suppression and societal fractures.
• European maps ignored Native settlements in favor of colonial ones.
• European views on African civilization dramatically changed in the early 20th century.
• Every credit card in the world follows a internationally agreed design standard.
• Farming created a food surplus that enabled larger communities to form.
• Farming developed independently in seven global regions 10,000 years ago.
• Feathers were highly valuable to Hawaiians, akin to jade or gold elsewhere.
• Fiction can reveal the affective seductions underpinning voluntary data extraction.
• Fighting Centaurs symbolizes Athens’ battles against chaos.
• Five programmes would broadcast each week, featuring clusters of five objects.
• Food’s divine association has persisted since early agriculture.
• Fractured remnants of Abbasid art survive in museums today.
• Galleons symbolize harmony in governance, unlike real-world messiness.
• Gold was described as the ‘sweat of the Sun’ in Inca culture.
• Greenwich Mean Time became the standard time reference for global shipping.
• Guadalupe is the most visited Catholic shrine after the Vatican.
• Hawaiian religious practices influenced social interactions with explorers like Cook.
• Highly structured societies can invest in large-scale textile production.
• Hindu worship involves using temple statues in prayer
• Hinduism depicts divine relationships as dynamic and inclusive.
• Historical myths can unite people during crises.
• HMS Beagle carried Charles Darwin with a chronometer in 1831.
• Hoa Hakananai’a statue is about 2.7 metres high.
• Hokusai’s Great Wave influenced European artists in the late 19th century.
• Hokusai’s The Great Wave was made around 1830.
• Huastec penitents sought forgiveness through goddess statues
• Human life began in Africa with stone tools creation.
• Humans began migrating from Africa to other continents about 40,000 years ago.
• Icons were used in Eastern Orthodox Christianity for veneration
• Imperial rulers stamped their marks on the Admonitions Scroll to signify ownership.
• In 1548, a German merchant house supplied 432 tons of brass manillas.
• Indian rulers openly engaged with holy men, unlike European monarchs of the time.
• Indians were moved to Ceylon for tea cultivation.
• Intermarriage occurred between African Americans and Native Americans in the 18th century.
• International trade led to the need for a global currency.
• Iran is officially Shi’a but allows other faiths to practice.
• Islamic coins abandoned human images, a significant departure from prior norms.
• Japan transformed into an imperial economic power after opening its ports in 1853.
• Japanese ceramics dominated the European market after 1644.
• Japanese cultural isolation allowed for unique cultural development.
• Japanese mirrors were once used in sacred rituals and communication with gods.
• John Harrison’s marine chronometer enabled accurate longitude determination at sea.
• Khotan was a major manufacturing center for silk in the eighth century.
• Kushite rule in Egypt lasted less than 150 years.
• Lacquer cups were significantly more expensive than bronze ones.
• Lady K’abal Xook’s self-mortification vision connects the king to his ancestors.
• Literature allows us to explore our thoughts and those of others.
• Local gods rapidly disappeared with the rise of universal faiths.
• Lord Elgin removed Parthenon sculptures around 1800.
• Lothair’s death led to the partitioning of his lands in 869.
• Lothair’s failure to divorce affected the future of Lorraine.
• Making stone tools likely relates to learning speech.
• Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation in 1517
• Minoans’ mastery of metals significantly influenced historical development.
• Mughal rulers employed a policy of wide religious inclusion.
• Neurological studies show overlapping brain areas for stone tool making and speaking.
• Object history provides an alternative narrative to traditional text-based history.
• Paper money was a revolutionary invention in human history.
• Papua New Guinea’s stone pestle is about 8,000 years old.
• Pieces of eight were counter-stamped and circulated globally, impacting multiple regions.
• Pilgrimages to shrines for holy relics took place in Western Christianity
• Potosí is synonymous with wealth in Spanish culture to this day.
• Promoting tea helped control social problems related to alcohol.
• Protective dragon tiles were part of a broader defense against spiritual and political threats.
• Prussian blue was imported to Japan in the 1820s.
• Queen Candace of Meroë invaded Roman southern Egypt in 25 BC.
• Ramesses’ statue challenged the notion that great art began in Greece.
• Religious tolerance in Isfahan was unusual compared to Christian Europe.
• Ritual blood-letting produces pain that leads to visionary experiences.
• Roof tiles in Kyongju were made with heavy cream-coloured clay.
• Sculptures and architecture provide lasting patterns for future artistic endeavors.
• Shapur’s hunting scenes represent divine order imposed on chaos.
• Silver dishes were used by the Sasanian kings as diplomatic gifts.
• Sixty-seven Chinese characters are engraved on the cup’s base.
• Society’s responses to sexual behavior vary widely across cultures and time periods.
• Spanish conquest attempted to replace Aztec religious practices with Catholicism.
• Spanish settlers and native aristocrats married and formed a mixed ruling class.
• Spanish-American silver caused financial chaos in Ming China.
• States operated complex economies for over 2,000 years without coins.
• Stone axes enabled settlers to cultivate land in Britain 6,000 years ago.
• Subsistence peoples continue eating contaminated food despite advisories because eating is sacred obligation
• Successful conquerors often adopt local symbols of power.
• Sukarno associated himself with Bima and the Theatre of Shadows.
• Suleiman the Magnificent issued approximately 150,000 letters of state during his reign.
• Symbols on the flagons mirror broader cultural contacts across Europe.
• Taharqo was the fourth pharaoh of Kush and Egypt.
• Taharqo’s success stemmed from his absorption of Egyptian customs.
• Tara is a rare, wholly bronze statue from medieval Sri Lanka.
• Tea symbolizes social history in nineteenth-century Britain.
• Tea trade led directly to the Opium Wars with China.
• Tea’s global trade shaped British national identity.
• Teosinte is the ancestral plant from which maize is derived.
• The Aboriginal shield is made from red mangrove wood, suitable for protection.
• The acceptance of homosexuality in Rome was complex and multifaceted.
• The Admonitions Scroll contains scenes showing women and emperors’ interactions.
• The Admonitions Scroll features a scene of a bear attack at an emperor’s show.
• The Assyrian Empire stretched from Iran to Egypt by 700 BC.
• The axe’s pristine condition indicates it was not used for practical purposes.
• The Basse-Yutz Flagons demonstrate the sophistication of their creators.
• The Basse-Yutz Flagons were discovered in 1927 in Basse-Yutz, France.
• The Basse-Yutz Flagons were made about 2,500 years ago.
• The Benin plaques have not been seen in Europe before 1897.
• The Benin plaques were created without European influence despite initial assumptions.
• The Birdman cult evolved from the use of the Hoa Hakananai’a statue.
• The Birdman cult involved an annual egg-collecting competition.
• The border between Egypt and Sudan has been a historical faultline.
• The bronze alloy in the sculpture contains inadequate tin, leading to flaws.
• The bull-leaper sculpture measures about 5 centimeters long.
• The bureaucracy enabled large-scale sculpture projects in ancient Egypt.
• The burial of Augustus’s head symbolized a calculated insult to Rome.
• The burial of the Mold Cape dates between 1900 BC and 1600 BC.
• The Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453.
• The Centaurs are depicted attacking the Lapiths in sculpture.
• The clay tablet measures approximately 9 by 7 centimeters.
• The combination of Buddhism and Hinduism shaped Tara’s depiction.
• The Complete Library of the Four Treasuries is the largest anthology in history.
• The creation of art indicates a change in human brain function.
• The Crown of Thorns cost over 120,000 livres in France.
• The Crown of Thorns gifted by Louis IX linked him directly to Christ.
• The culinary habits of ancient Egyptians reflect their agricultural practices.
• The cup of Ulugh Beg is made from olive-green jade.
• The depiction of Lachish shows one of the earliest representations of refugees.
• The design of the Throne of Weapons provokes reflections on violence and humanity.
• The development of credit cards reflects the diminishing materiality of money.
• The differing map interpretations reveal core Enlightenment conflicts.
• The discovery of the Mold Gold Cape transformed understanding of prehistoric British societies.
• The drum evolved into a political trophy representing British dominance.
• The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered the first great epic poem of world literature.
• The establishment of Greenwich Mean Time unified global timekeeping practices.
• The export prohibition of brass plaques was part of African control over trade.
• The first modern centenary celebration occurred in 1617
• The Flood Tablet was written in the seventh century BC.
• The galleon model represents European trade and warfare innovations.
• The Giant Mexican Toad’s toxin was believed to connect to an Earth goddess.
• The Great Orme mine was the largest Bronze Age copper source in north-west Europe.
• The Great Wave symbolizes both beauty and instability in Japan’s history.
• The gui vessel dates back to around 3,000 years ago.
• The Holy Thorn Reliquary belonged to Jean, duc de Berry.
• The idea that losing teams were always killed is a misconception.
• The Ife brass heads changed European perceptions of African art history.
• The Indian Ocean facilitated extensive trade between multiple cultures.
• The Indian Ocean is a more connected maritime culture than the Mediterranean.
• The Indus Valley civilization vanished largely due to climate change.
• The Indus Valley civilization was comparable to ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia in sophistication.
• The introduction of coinage enabled new forms of trade and trust in economic systems.
• The jade ring called bi is over 3,000 years old.
• The jade used for the axe was sourced from Italy, not Britain.
• The Jomon pot was lacquered with gold leaf between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.
• The label for Egyptian pharaohs dates back to around 3000 BC.
• The last Safavid shah, Husayn, imposed religious repression.
• The Lewis Chessmen include notable figures and representations of medieval society.
• The Lothair Crystal depicts the story of Susanna and the Elders.
• The Mandate of Heaven is a key political concept in ancient China.
• The metopes depict battles, including Lapiths versus Centaurs.
• The mirror was made of highly polished bronze, not glass.
• The Moche civilization constructed the first real city in South America.
• The Moche territory extended 350 miles along the Pacific coast of Peru.
• The Mold Cape is unique in its complexity and sophistication.
• The oldest artwork in British galleries dates to around 13,000 years ago.
• The oldest known representation of a couple having sex dates to 11,000 years ago.
• The Olmec culture influenced subsequent Central American civilizations.
• The otter pipe is from a burial mound in present-day Ohio.
• The Ottoman Empire expanded significantly under Suleiman’s rule.
• The overthrow of the Ming Dynasty allowed Japan to fill the porcelain market void.
• The Persian Empire had advanced transport and communication systems.
• The Persian Empire’s religious tolerance facilitated its political success.
• The pestle from Papua New Guinea is about 35 centimeters tall.
• The Portuguese established early land presence in Asia during the early 1500s.
• The project aimed to cover human history across two million years.
• The project included objects from across the entire world.
• The Protestant Reformation led to the Enlightenment
• The Qianlong emperor’s inscriptions transformed the bi into an object of enlightenment.
• The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus reveals ancient Egyptian numerical thought.
• The Rosetta Stone was made in 196 BC during Ptolemy V’s coronation.
• The rubber ball used in ancient ball games weighed between 3 to 15 kilos.
• The Sasanian kings claimed divine authority as agents of god.
• The sculpture depicts a ritual involving blood-letting by a queen.
• The sculpture likely welcomed worshippers at a temple entrance.
• The Seven Years War expanded British territorial control significantly.
• The Sexual Offences Act was passed in 1967.
• The Silk Princess story illustrates a cultural exchange from East to West.
• The slit drum is made from African coralwood, a durable hardwood.
• The Spanish discovered silver mines that powered the first global currency.
• The Spanish piece of eight dominated global currency until the nineteenth century.
• The statue of Ramesses originally weighed about 20 tonnes.
• The statue of the Huastec woman is approximately 1.5 meters tall.
• The stool is a ceremonial object of the Taino people.
• The stool is carved from rich dark wood and inlaid with gold.
• The suffragettes’ actions provoked legal changes in women’s voting rights.
• The term ‘suffragettes’ was first used derogatorily to distinguish aggressive activists from peaceful ones.
• The Throne of Weapons embodies both suffering and resilience in war.
• The Throne of Weapons reflects Mozambique’s colonial legacy and Cold War influence.
• The Throne of Weapons symbolizes Mozambique’s recovery from past violence through art.
• The Timurid Empire’s creation influenced Islamic architecture in Central Asia.
• The transition to Christianity reduced the demand for frankincense.
• The upper body of the Ramesses statue is about 2.5 metres high.
• The Vale of York hoard contained over 600 silver coins.
• The Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, ten years after the conquest.
• The Visigoths demanded a tonne of pepper as ransom in 408 AD.
• The Warren Cup dates back 2,000 years to Roman times.
• The world before 1500 consisted of regional networks without global views.
• The world’s first crowded cities grew in river valleys like the Nile.
• This carving had no practical function, emphasizing art’s intrinsic value.
• Tlazolteotl embodies both fertility and the consumption of impurities in Aztec myth.
• Tobacco was first cultivated in Central and South America 2,000 years ago.
• Trade in Kilwa transformed the local African community culturally.
• Trade networks facilitated the spread of Buddhism beyond its birthplace.
• Using multiple stone technologies suggests advanced artistic skills.
• Using tools led to the survival and proliferation of larger-brained humans.
• Viking trade routes connected England to the Middle East and Asia.
• Vikings captured people to sell as slaves in trade markets.
• Women gained the right to vote in the UK in 1918 and 1928.
• Women’s suffrage in 1918 forced candidates to court female voters through intermediaries
• Writing transitioned from mnemonic signs to phonetic symbols.
• Writing transitioned from record-keeping to expressing ideas through literature.
• Yemen supplied the Roman Empire with frankincense and myrrh.