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Economy

Coinage

Coinage emerged during the Iron Age as symbolic tokens, and gradually took on a role as a formalised method of exchange – first on the basis of their intrinsic value and later for their agreed symbolic value, as in our own fiat coinage. Throughout their existence coins have been hoarded, usually surviving due to accident but sometimes also because of their deliberate votive burial. Continue reading →

Antikythera Mechanism

Discovered by sponge-divers off the coast of the Greek Island of Antikythera in 1900, the Antikythera mechanism is by far the most complex piece of technology to have come down to us from antiquity. It is only with the most recent developments in computer-aided vision and reconstruction that we have been able to decipher its purpose as an eclipse predictor. Continue reading →

Introduction to module

Human history needs to be told through things. Texts help but they only reach back into the shallows of our past. In this module we go further to investigate deep human history through the wonderful things left behind. Our aim is to unite the entire span of our evolutionary history by investigating forty wonderful things described for you by experts. The story starts two and a half million years ago with the first stone tools. Continue reading →