A History of the World in 100 objects

A History of the World in 100 Objects has now ended but the programmes will continue to be available. Listen to the programmes by following the links below, or save them to your computer or mp3 player by following the links on the podcast page here.

All series

• Making Us Human (2,000,000 - 9000 BC)

  Neil MacGregor reveals the earliest objects that define us as humans.

  5 episodes available

• After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC)

  Why did farming start at the end of the Ice Age? Clues remain in objects left behind

  5 episodes available

• The First Cities and States (4000 - 2000 BC)

  What happens as people move from villages to cities? Five objects tell the story.

  5 episodes available

• The Beginning of Science and Literature (1500 - 700 BC)

  4,000 years ago, societies began to express themselves through myth, maths and monuments

  5 episodes available

• Old World, New Powers (1100 - 300 BC)

  Across the world new regimes create objects to assert their supremacy.

  5 episodes available

• The World in the Age of Confucius (500 - 300 BC)

  Can meanings hidden in friezes and flagons tell us as much as the writings of great men?

  5 episodes available

• Empire Builders (300 BC - 1 AD)

  Neil MacGregor launches the second part of his history of the world told through objects

  5 episodes available

• Ancient Pleasures, Modern Spice (1 - 600 AD)

  Neil MacGregor explores the ways in which people sought pleasure 2,000 years ago

  5 episodes available

• The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD)

  Neil MacGregor explores how and when many great religious images came into existence

  5 episodes available

• The Silk Road And Beyond (400 - 700 AD)

  Five objects from the British Museum tell the story of the movement of goods and ideas

  5 episodes available

• Inside The Palace: Secrets At Court (700 - 950 AD)

  Neil MacGregor gets an insight into the lives of the ruling elites 1200 years ago

  5 episodes available

• Pilgrims, Raiders and Traders (900 - 1300 AD)

  How trade, war and religion moved objects around the globe 1000 years ago

  5 episodes available

• Status Symbols (1200 - 1400 AD)

  Neil MacGregor examines objects which hold status and required skilful making

  5 episodes available

• Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)

  Objects from the British Museum show how the faithful were brought closer to their gods

  5 episodes available

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

  Neil MacGregor explores the great empires of the world in the threshold of the modern era.

  5 episodes available

• The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD)

  Neil MacGregor traces the impact of travel, trade and conquest from 1450 to 1600.

  5 episodes available

• Tolerance and Intolerance (1550 - 1700 AD)

  Neil MacGregor tells how the great religions lived together in the C16th and C17th.

  5 episodes available

• Exploration, Exploitation and Enlightenment (1680 - 1820 AD)

  Neil MacGregor on the misunderstandings that can happen when different worlds collide.

  5 episodes available

• Mass Production, Mass Persuasion (1780 - 1914 AD)

  How industrialisation, mass politics and imperial ambitions changed the world.

  5 episodes available

• The World of Our Making (1914 - 2010 AD)

  Neil MacGregor explores aspects of contemporary sexual, political and economic history.

  5 episodes available