Browse the archive

I Early human ancestry About 7 million to 300,000 years ago

• LessonA new way to make toolsBy about 320,000 years agoThe first of our speciesSpans eras I to II

• OlorgesailieMiddle Stone Age tools by about 320,000 years ago

II Our species and the Old Stone Age About 300,000 to 12,000 years ago

• SubjectThe first of our speciesAbout 320,000 to 70,000 years ago, across AfricaAcross Africa, from Morocco to the Cape
• SubjectThe long human story315,000 years ago to nowAfrica first, then every continentSpans eras II to IV
• LessonOlder than anyone thoughtAbout 315,000 years agoThe first of our species
• LessonOne cradle or many?About 300,000 to 100,000 years agoThe first of our species
• LessonUnder the ash at OmoAt least 233,000 years agoThe first of our species
• LessonPaint, beads and a drawingAbout 100,000 to 73,000 years agoThe first of our species
• SubjectStone Age to Iron Age BritainAbout 42,000 years ago to AD 43Britain, from Happisburgh to StonehengeSpans eras II to V

• Jebel IrhoudAbout 315,000 years ago
• Jebel Irhoud, Moroccoabout 315,000 years ago
• FlorisbadA tooth dated to about 259,000 years ago; the skull’s age is uncertain
• Omo KibishAt least 233,000 years ago
• Blombos CaveAbout 100,000 to 73,000 years ago
• Liang Metanduno, Muna, Indonesiaat least 67,800 years ago
• Leang Karampuang, Sulawesi, Indonesiaat least 51,200 years ago
• Kents CavernJaw dated 44,200 to 41,500 years ago
• El Castillo, Cantabria, Spainat least 37,300 years ago

III Farming and the New Stone Age About 10,000 BC to 3500 BC

• Göbekli Tepe, Türkiyefrom about 9600 BC
• Star CarrAbout 11,000 years ago
• Gough’s Cave, CheddarAbout 10,000 years ago

IV First cities and the Bronze Age About 3500 BC to 1200 BC

• ObjectA clay tablet recording barleyAbout 3100 to 2900 BCMesopotamia, now Iraq
• SubjectAncient EgyptAbout 2550 BC to 196 BC, and how it was read againThe Nile valley, EgyptSpans eras IV to VI
• ObjectCattle carved for King KhufuAbout 2551 to 2528 BC, in the reign of KhufuLisht, Egypt
• LessonThe town that built the pyramidsAbout 2550 BC to 2470 BCAncient Egypt
• ObjectSeated statue of King MenkaureAbout 2490 to 2472 BC, in the reign of MenkaureGiza, Egypt
• ObjectModel bakery and breweryAbout 1981 to 1975 BCThebes, Egypt
• ObjectModel granary with scribesAbout 1981 to 1975 BCThebes, Egypt
• ObjectModel of a boat being rowedAbout 1981 to 1975 BCThebes, Egypt

• Uruk, Iraq3400 to 3200 BC
• Skara BraeUntil around 2500 BC
• StonehengeEarthwork about 3000 BC; stones about 2500 BC
• GizaPyramids of Khufu to Menkaure, about 2551 to 2472 BC
• AmesburyAbout 2300 BC
• LishtPyramid of Amenemhat I, about 1981 BC onwards
• Thebes (Luxor)Tomb of Meketre, about 1981 to 1975 BC
• MeirAbout 1961 to 1878 BC
• Talepakemalai, MussauLapita pots made here from about 1350 BC
• Anyang (Yinxu)Last Shang capital, from Wu Ding’s reign to the end of the Shang
• Reef and Santa Cruz IslandsSettled by about 1250 BC
• Anyang, Chinaabout 1250 BC

V The Iron Age and growing states About 1200 BC to 500 BC

• ObjectA bronze cauldron on three legs12th to 11th century BCShang China
• ObjectA lidded bronze wine container12th century BCShang China
• LessonTeouma, the oldest cemeteryAbout 3,000 years ago; found in 2003The Lapita voyagers
• LessonBefore kingsAbout 1000 to 800 BCThe Maya
• SubjectThe MayaFrom the first great platform, about 1000 BC, to the Maya peoples of todaySouthern Mexico and GuatemalaSpans eras V to XII
• LessonLandfall in TongaIn the 800s BCThe Lapita voyagers
• LessonThe long pauseAbout 750 BC to AD 1290The Lapita voyagersSpans eras V to VIII

• Teouma, EfateA cemetery about 3,000 years old
• Aguada FénixBuilt about 1000 to 800 BC
• Caution BayLapita pots here from about 950 to 550 BC
• Must FarmAround the ninth century BC
• Nukuleka, TongatapuFirst landfall in the 800s BC

VI The classical world About 500 BC to AD 500

• LessonCounting the daysFrom a zero day in 3114 BC to 21 December 2012The MayaSpans eras VI to VIII
• LessonReading the glyphsWriting from about 300 BC; read again from the 1950sThe MayaSpans eras VI to VII
• ObjectThe Rosetta Stone196 BCRashid (Rosetta), Egypt
• LessonThe invasion55 BC to AD 47Roman Britain
• SubjectRoman BritainAD 43 to about 410Britain, from Kent to Hadrian’s Wall
• LessonTowns and the new lifeAD 47 to about 300Roman Britain
• LessonBoudica’s revoltAD 60 to 61Roman Britain
• ObjectRegina’s tombstone2nd century ADSouth Shields, England

• Maiden CastleDefences from about 400 BC; deserted by AD 43
• San BartoloGlyphs painted about 300 to 200 BC
• San Bartolo, Guatemalaabout 300 to 200 BC
• Rashid (Rosetta)Decree of 196 BC; found nearby in July 1799
• RichboroughAD 43 to the early 400s
• LondonFounded AD 47 to 50; empty by about 450
• WroxeterFort about AD 47; city from the 90s; centre empty by the mid 400s
• BathFounded in the later first century AD
• YorkFounded in or around AD 71
• VindolandaAbout AD 85 to after 400
• CorbridgeForts from about AD 86; a town until the early 400s
• BirdoswaldBuilt soon after AD 122; lived in until about 500
• ChestersBuilt about AD 124; held into the 400s
• HousesteadsBegun within a decade of AD 122; held to about 400, perhaps later
• PortchesterProbably built AD 285 to 290
• Piedras NegrasIts stelae were read as history in 1960
• West StowAbout 420 to the early 600s

VII After the empires About AD 500 to 1000

• ObjectThe Sutton Hoo helmetBuried about 625Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, England
• LessonSaints and raidersAD 635 to 875Anglo-Saxon Britain
• LessonCities under the treesFound in 2016 and 2017; most from AD 650 to 800The Maya
• LessonA king under the templeBuried in AD 683; found in 1952The Maya
• LessonDrought, and the Maya todayAbout AD 800 to 1000, and todayThe MayaSpans eras VII to XII
• LessonKings of the skyThe Ogiso kings, then the Oba dynasty from about 1170The Kingdom of BeninSpans eras VII to VIII
• SubjectThe Kingdom of BeninFrom the Ogiso kings to the present Oba, in Benin CityBenin City, NigeriaSpans eras VII to XII

• Palenque (Lakamha’)Pakal buried here in AD 683
• Sutton HooShip burial about 625
• LindisfarneMonastery from 635; monks leave in 875
• WhitbySynod of 664
• Lake ChichancanabIts mud records the drought of about AD 800 to 1000
• Benin CityCapital of the Ogiso and then the Oba dynasty, to today

VIII Medieval networks and empires About 1000 to 1450

• LessonThe casters’ guildFrom about 1280 to todayThe Kingdom of BeninSpans eras VIII to XII
• ObjectA brass head of a kingEarly 15th to mid-16th centuryBenin City, NigeriaSpans eras VIII to IX

IX Oceans crossed About 1450 to 1750

• ObjectThe ivory mask of Queen Mother Idia16th centuryBenin City, Nigeria
• ObjectAn ivory saltcellar with Portuguese figuresAbout 1525 to 1600Benin City, Nigeria
• ObjectA plaque of a king on horsebackAbout 1540 to 1570, by the Met’s datingBenin City, Nigeria
• ObjectA plaque of Portuguese tradersAbout 1540 to 1570, by the Met’s datingBenin City, Nigeria
• ObjectA horn player1550 to 1680Benin City, Nigeria

X Revolutions and the first factories About 1750 to 1850

• ObjectThe Great Pyramid, photographed in 1849December 1849Giza, Egypt

XI Industry, empire and world war About 1850 to 1945

• ObjectThe pyramids at Giza, photographed in the 1860s1865 to 1869Giza, Egypt
• Lesson1897 and the long way homeFebruary 1897 to todayThe Kingdom of BeninSpans eras XI to XII

XII The world since 1945 1945 to now