Introduction to module

Post stamp of Hoa Hakananai'a
250th Anniversary for British Museum 68p stamp (2003) Hoa Hakananai’a. c. AD1000. Royal Mail Group. Permission for use granted by Royal Mail Group.

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. It ends, in this module, with a bang and the invention of gunpowder. We will start by outlining our approach and introducing you to the readings.  

Reading

  • Fagan, B. 2001. The seventy great mysteries of the Ancient World. London: Thames and Hudson
  • MacGregor, N. 2010. The history of the world in 100 objects. London: British Museum Press