Throughout this week Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the ways in which people sought pleasure around the world 2,000 years ago: from pipe smoking to sex
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- A History of the World in 100 Objects
- Ancient Pleasures, Modern Spice (1 - 600 AD)
Ancient Pleasures, Modern Spice (1 - 600 AD)
Available now on BBC iPlayer
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Listen to the latest programme
Hoxne Pepper Pot
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Fri, 28 May 2010.
5/5. Neil MacGregor uses a silver pepper pot to tell of the Roman spice trade with India.
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Also available
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Admonitions Scroll
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Fri, 14 Jan 2011.
4/5. Neil MacGregor examines an ancient Chinese scroll that rules on how women should behave.
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Ceremonial Ballgame Belt
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Wed, 26 May 2010.
3/5. Neil MacGregor discovers the oldest ball game on earth.
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North American Otter Pipe
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Tue, 25 May 2010.
2/5. Neil MacGregor on a 2,000-year-old stone pipe from North America.
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Warren Cup
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Mon, 24 May 2010.
1/5. Neil MacGregor tells the story of a Roman silver cup with the power to shock.
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Featured
WHERE THESE OBJECTS WERE FOUND
36. The Warren Cup
37. North American otter pipe
38. Ceremonial ballgame belt
39. Admonitions Scroll
40. Hoxne pepper pot
Ancient pleasures, modern spice
In traditional models of Chinese history decadence and luxury are associated with periods of decline. The collapse of the Han dynasty into the chaotic Period of Disunion was partly blamed on emperors succumbing to the pleasures of court life. Similarly in Rome intellectuals worried that the taste for luxury goods from the east, like pepper, would bankrupt the empire. Attitudes to pleasure, luxury and leisure fluctuate throughout history. For example the relationships between boys and older men tolerated in the Roman Empire would be deemed illegal today. Many of our modern leisure activities have their origins in ancient religions. Tobacco smoking and some of the earliest team sports first occurred in the Americas, where they were used in religious rituals.
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