History of the World in 100 Objects

Way back in 2011, I considered the History of the World in 100 Objects - which had just been recently published. It’s a great work, and a fascinating study, but I ended up agreeing with maybe ⅔ - because 1) It is solely focused on items from the British Museum and 2) It vastly underrepresents modernity.

So here’s my new, updated, list. Much of it is identical to the old - lots was worth keeping. But not being tied to the British Museum allows for significant expansion. Of note: this is focused on objects - so things like buildings, or concepts, aren’t included. Without further ado:

 

1. Olduvai Handaxe – 1.2-1.4 MYA, Tanzania. Tool use! Handaxes were critical multi-tools of our ancestors. Also an important reminder that we start our human journey in media res: technology predates our species.

 

2. German Lion-Man – 35,000-41,000 YA, Germany. One of the earliest pieces of art made by humans, of potentially religious significance.

 

3. Clovis Spear Point – 13,000 YA, New Mexico. Homo Sapiens had reached the Americas, and uniquely adapted Afro-Eurasian technology.

 

4. Japanese Jomon Pot – 10,000 BCE, Japan. While working with clay is far older, in Japan proper kiln-based ceramics arose as one of the earliest sites to discover this technology.

 

5. Papuan Bird-Shaped Pestle – 10,000 BCE, Papua New Guinea. Evidence of cooking and agriculture, this shows the influence of agriculture developing outside the Fertile Crescent.

 

6. Mesopotamian Cuneiform Writing Tablet – 3,000 BCE, Iraq. World’s first writing as we know it, depicts bureaucratic rationing of beer in lieu of pay.

 

7. Egyptian King’s Sandal Label – 2985 BCE, Egypt. This ivory piece has depictions of early state-building, and power politics. It shows a pharaoh smiting someone, and is one of the earliest depictions in the world of a ruler.

 

8. Ur Box (Battle Standard?) – 2,600-2,4000 BCE, Iraq. Depicts tax collection: More complex state building. Also shows use of a key Sumerian invention: the wheel.

 

9. Sumerian Plow Seal – 2,340-2,150 BCE, Iraq. Indicates the importance of domestication and the plow. The plow allowed for surplus food, and drastically changed the course of civilization in Afro-Eurasia.

 

10. Indus Weights – 2,600-1,900 BCE, India. India starts to be a state: these chert cubes were identical across the civilization, increase by predictable ratios, and were almost certainly used in trade.

 

11. Egyptian Mathematical Papyrus – 1,550 BCE, Egypt. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus demonstrates both the advanced levels of ancient mathematics and the development of papyrus, which will lead to paper.

 

12. Egyptian Statue of Ramses II – 1,250 BCE, Egypt. To rule an empire put your face everywhere: Ramses II’s multitudinous statues exemplify state propaganda.

 

13. Chinese Zhou Vessel – 1,100-1,000 BCE, China. This complex bronze work, indicating advanced society, was created for Chinese ancestor worship.

 

14. Assyrian Reliefs – 700-681 BCE, Iraq. Assyrians first carved out the Middle East as we know it. Reliefs depict refugees of a territorial war that defined the age of early empire.

 

15. Nineveh Flood Tablet – 700-600 BCE, Iraq. Tells the flood story in a non-Biblical context, in the Epic of Gilgamesh: the first surviving work of literature.

 

16. Turkish Gold Coin – 550 BCE, Turkiye. Money! Standardization of purity in metal means moving away from beer rationing.

 

17. Persian Chariot Model – 500-300 BCE, Tajikistan. The gold model depicts the nature of the enormous Persian state, with its famous roads.

 

18. Greek Parthenon Sculpture: Centaur and Lapith – 440 BCE, Greece. Classical Greece is symbolized in marble showing the struggle between brutishness and reason.

 

19. Greek Ostracism Shard – 486-461 BCE, Greece. Potsherd with name inscribed exemplifies Athenian democracy, and their social-legal system.

 

20. Peruvian Textile – 300-200 BCE, Peru. Evidence of complex society and artisanship in the Americas, these cloths were used to wrap mummified bodies.

 

21. Indian Palm Leaf Manuscript – 252 BCE, India. Shows the development of Sanskrit in the subcontinent, and begins to codify the texts of Hinduism.

 

22. Indian Pillar of Ashoka – 238 BCE, India. Ashoka is generally the textbook case of benevolent monarchy, and these pillars mark the unification of India under empire and influence of Buddhism on India.

 

23. Egyptian Mummy – 300-200 BCE, Egypt. Ptolemaic mummy symbolizes influence of post-Alexander Mediterranean, co-opting ancient traditions under new Greek rule.

 

24. Chinese Terracotta Soldier – 210-209 BCE, China. Guardian of the Qin emperor’s tomb, and representative of his labor force and new imperialism.

 

25. Roman Head of Augustus – 27-25 BCE, Sudan. Emblemic of the Pax Romana and influence of the Roman Empire’s culture beyond its own borders.

 

26. Chinese Han Lacquer Cup – 4 CE. Craftsmanship details show the influence of the critical Chinese bureaucracy and state-sponsored manufacturing.

 

27. Roman Silver Cup – 5-15 CE, Israel. Juxtaposition of Roman homosexuality as both idealized and realistic.

 

28. North American Otter Pipe – 200 BCE - 100 CE, USA. Emblemizes the role of shaman animals and tobacco in North America.

 

29. Mexican Ceremonial Ballgame Belt – 100-500 CE, Mexico. Shows state sponsored religious-tinged sports, and the influence of early Mesoamerican cultures upon millennia of Maya and their descendents.

 

30. Gandhara Seated Buddha – 100-300 CE, Pakistan. An early example of depicting Buddha in physical form, it also shows the influence of classical European style in Asian art.

 

31. Iranian Silver Plate showing Shapur II – 309-379 CE, Iran. Shows the role of Zoroastrianism in Persia, reacting to the rise of Christianity.

 

32. Roman Jesus Mosaic – 300-400 CE, UK. Depicts Jesus as Christ, combined with Classical imagery, found on the outskirts of the Roman Empire in the UK.

 

33. Chinese Jin Dynasty Scroll Painting – 400-700 CE, China. One of the earliest paintings, describes Chinese values, on silk.

 

34. Arabic Gold Coins of Abd Al-Malik – 696/697 CE, Syria. The juxtaposition of two coins minted a year apart define the moment when the new faith of Islam forbade images of people.

 

35. Moche Warrior Pot – 100-700 CE, Peru. Symbolizes the influence of ceramics in South America and the importance of warrior culture.

 

36. Maya Relief of Bloodletting – 723-726 CE, Mexico. Portrays the historic importance of blood as the most valuable substance in the Latin American world and the power of the religious caste.

 

37. Chinese Tang Tomb Figures – 728 CE, China. Displays China’s revitalization after a long period of small kingdoms, and Silk Road influences in design.

 

38. Javanese Borobudur Buddha Head –780-840 CE, Indonesia. Represents the extent of Buddhism throughout Asia and an era of advanced architecture in Southeast Asia.

 

39. Abbasid Harem Wall Painting Fragments – 800-900 CE, Iraq. Represents the power and isolation of court women worldwide, specifically from the Abbasid empire.

 

40. German Lothair Crystal – 855-869 CE, Germany? Illustrates the medieval legal attitudes based on the Bible and artistic craftsmanship of the Carolingian Renaissance.

 

41. Sri Lankan Tara Statue – 700-900 CE, Sri Lanka. Evokes the dialogue between Buddhism and Hinduism in South Asia, as formerly Hindu kingdoms increasingly adopted the Buddhist faith and visual language.

 

42. Viking Hoard – 927 CE, UK. Vikings plundered Northern Europe, and spread their influence throughout the North Atlantic.

 

43. Japanese Bronze Mirror – 1100-1200 CE, Japan. Displays symbolism of Japanese court life as they developed an aesthetic distinct from Chinese influence.

 

44. African Kilwa Pottery Shards – 900-1400 CE. Evidence of African trade with Asia, and the rise of Swahili East Africa due to Bantu migrations.

 

45. Rapa Nui Moai – 1250-1500 CE, Chile. Shows the extent of the Polynesian settlers across the Pacific.

 

46. Spanish Hebrew Astrolabe – 1345-1355 CE, Spain. Indication of the religious tolerance and scientific advancement of medieval Muslim Spain.

 

47. Chinese Yuan Vases – 1351 CE, China. Blue and white porcelain, China, was invented during the reign of Kublai Khan, depicting the immersion of Mongols into the Chinese legacy.

 

48. Indian Shiva and Parvati Sculpture – 1100-1300 CE, India. Demonstrates the Sub-continent's sexual mores and Hindu spiritualism reacting to Islam.

 

49. Byzantine Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy – 1350-1400 CE, Turkiye. Represents the diminishing role of the Orthodox Church and Byzantine Empire, as well as their iconographic heritage.

 

50. Chinese Ming Banknote – 1375 CE, China. Paper money!

 

51. French Holy Thorn Reliquary – 1390 CE, France. Signifies the return of wealth to Europe, tied to the Church, after the Crusades.

 

52. Nigerian Ife Head – 1400-1500 CE, Nigeria. Shows a West African terminus of trade routes and metallurgical brilliance.

 

53. Florentine artist Michelangelo’s David – 1504 CE, Florence. Represents the high Italian Renaissance, the reemergence of classical art, and the emphasis of individualism.

 

54. Taino Ritual Seat – 1200-1500 CE, Hispaniola. Spiritual object of the Caribbean peoples mostly wiped out by Columbus.

 

55. Inca Gold Llama – 1500 CE, Peru. Incas were dependent both upon these animals, and the gold it’s made of.

 

56. German artist Durer’s Rhinoceros – 1515 CE, Germany. Symbolizes the emergence of the Portuguese empire and Northern artistic Renaissance.

 

57. Ottoman Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent – 1520-1566 CE, Turkiye. Ne plus ultra of Arabic calligraphy, Ottoman strength.

 

58. Benin Plaque – 1500-1600 CE, Nigeria. Depicts the interplay of Portuguese traders and African monarchs.

 

59. Aztec Double-Headed Serpent – 1400-1550 CE, Mexico. Signifies the wealth, trade networks, and religious symbols of the Aztecs.

 

60. Spanish Pieces of Eight – 1589-1598 CE, Bolivia. First global currency, indicator of the wealth of the Spanish empire.

 

61. Mexican Codex Map – 1570-1600 CE, Mexico. Emblematic of the Catholic influence in the New World showing new church construction.

 

62. Mughal Miniature – 1610 CE, India. Shows the interplay of Islamic and Hindu religion with the former’s introduction to India.

 

63. German Reformation Centenary Broadsheet – 1617 CE, Germany. Protestant recruitment poster for Thirty Years War which represents the advent of printing in Europe.

 

64. Japanese Porcelain Elephants – 1650-1700 CE, Japan. Indicates the introduction of porcelain to Japan, and the creation of products for European markets via the Dutch during the Tokugawa Shogunate.

 

65. Iranian Shi’a Religious Standard – 1650-1700 CE, Iran. Emblematic of the Islamic split as the Persian Safavids became Shi'a.

 

66. Javanese Shadow Puppet – 1600-1800, Indonesia. Depicts the unique heritage of Hinduism and Islam in Southeast Asia.

 

67. British Refracting Telescope – 1740 CE, UK. Developed by Newton, represents early scientific revolution, lenscrafting, and changing understanding of humanity’s place in the cosmos.

 

68. Akan Drum – 1730-1745 CE, Ghana. West African drum, found in Virginia, representative of the Atlantic slave trade.

 

69. Australian Aboriginal Bark Shield – 1770 CE, Australia. Indicative of 60,000 years of technological development, inter-Australian trade networks, and European contact – being damaged by James Cook.

 

70. North American Buckskin Map – 1774-1775 CE, USA. Territorial negotiating device used between Native Americans and Europeans, in light of their role in the Seven Years War.

 

71. British Brown Bess – 1740-1770 CE, UK. Musket that was used in the American Revolution, as well as other revolutions of the era, such as the Musket Wars in New Zealand.

 

72. British HMS Beagle Chronometer – 1795-1805 CE, UK. Artifact of the naval importance to the British Empire, the standardization of time, and Darwin’s voyages.

 

73. British Inventor Stephenson’s Rocket – 1829 CE, UK. Introduction of the steam locomotive that began replacing animal labor and transportation, emblematic of the early industrial revolution.

 

74. Japanese artist Hokusai’s The Great Wave – 1829-32 CE, Japan. Expresses the influence of Europe after centuries of isolation, wood block techniques.

 

75. British Early Victorian Tea Set – 1840-45 CE, UK. Shows the extent of the British empire’s trading and overseas industry, as well as a rising consumer middle class.

 

76. British Early Syringe – 1853 CE, UK. Example of vaccine medicine and the developing understanding of human anatomy.

 

77. British Rose Diagram – 1858 CE, UK. Invented by Florence Nightingale, this graph depicts deaths due to disease in the British colonial army and the rise of statistics and graphing for understanding information.

 

78. Brazilian Book ‘O Livro Do Povo’ – 1863 CE, Brazil. Brazilian primary reader that marks the transition in the West to public education systems and mass literacy.

 

79. Sudanese Slit Drum – 1800-1900 CE, Sudan. Representative of the fault line between Saharan Islamic and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as European influences on the region in the ‘scramble for Africa’.

 

80. British Phrenology Bust – 1872 CE, UK. Shows the prevalence of pseudoscience and emergence of psychology, as people pivoted towards a new understanding of mental health.

 

81. American Tabulating Machine – 1890 CE, USA. Set up the punch-card system that led to computers, and reflects the massive influx of European immigrants to the United States.

 

82. German Photograph of Wife’s Hand – 1895 CE, Germany. X-Ray image by Rontgen that opened up the study of radiation in physics and changed medicine.

 

83. British ‘Votes for Women’ Penny – 1913 CE, UK. Exemplifies the Western suffrage movement of the turn of the century.

 

84. American Ford Model T – 1915 CE, USA. Represents the modern factory assembly line and the automotive and petroleum industries.

 

85. Russian Revolutionary Plate – 1921 CE, USSR. Marks the end of the czars and first communist country, as well as the emergence of modern art.

 

86. Dutch Bakelite Radio – 1934 CE, Netherlands. Demonstrates the ubiquity of plastics and new changes in mass communication and consumption.

 

87. American Architectural Drawing – 1939-40 CE, USA. Depicting his plan for a college campus, this work by Mies Van Der Rohe typifies the emergence of modern architecture.

 

88. Polish Yellow Star – 1939-1945 CE, Poland. Badge identifying Jewish concentration camp prisoners during the Holocaust.

 

89. American Trinitite – 1945 CE, USA. Mineral created from the Trinity atomic weapon test, stand-in for nuclear weapon proliferation and the effects of radiation on radiocarbon dating.

 

90. American ‘DDT Is Good For Me’ – 1947 CE, USA. Poster shows the influence of big science, advertising, and the rise of the environmental movement.

 

91. American RCA TK-40 Television Camera – 1953 CE, USA. Television and mass media built upon the photographic and motion picture developments of the previous decades.

 

92. American Contraceptive Pill Bottle – 1960 CE, USA. Revolutionized social sexual mores and represents modern medication.

 

93. American Robot – 1966 CE, USA. Dubbed ‘Shakey’, this was the first modern, programmable, robot that could react to its environment.

 

94. South African ANC Poster – 1986, South Africa. An example of the role of civil rights movements and protests during the 20th century.

 

95. American Space Shuttle –1992 CE, USA. Shows humanity’s first steps leaving earth and rocket technology.

 

96. Mozambique Throne of Weapons – 2001 CE, Mozambique. Denotes the legacy of post-colonial violence in Africa.

 

97. British Taxidermy of Dolly the Sheep – 2003 CE, UK. First genetic clone, representing modern decoding and manipulation of genes.

 

98. American iPhone – 2007 CE, USA. Epitomizes global communications, touchscreen technology, and the internet revolution.

 

99. UAE Sharia Credit Card – 2009 CE, United Arab Emirates. No money! Plastic! The Middle East’s new wealth.

 

100. Chinese Solar Lamp – 2010 CE, China. Sustainable energy for the developing world and emergence of LEDs.