The earliest actual trace of human culture may go back as far as the Acheulian handaxe [Gray's Inn Lane], or the eoliths that begin appearing at that time. Yet the STUDY of this cultural setting of humans is only a few hundred years old, or as Stafford-Clark suggests [156], only one hundred years ago.
One of the most visited (2 million people annually), large, and straightforward Museum-Libraries in the world. Parliament decided, in 1753, to fund the purchase of manuscripts, and artifacts.
The book is a memento to complement a visit, not a comprehensive or even "interesting" presentation. For example, the Museum has a serious Egypt collection, and the book has photographs. But the little shabti of Amenhetep III [63] is an ugly afterthought of this bespoken afterlife.
One of the gracious "facts" of British acquisition, however controversial, is its transparency. The Elgin marbles, which remained from among the appointments of the Parthenon which were about to be ground into cement by the Islamic Caliphs who occupied Greece, were probably removed by the British Ambassador without "permission" [75]. Many of the collections are the direct result of "punitive" expeditions -- the relics of the Benin were seized in 1897 from the Oba's royal, and divine, palace [164]. And the Museum, and this book, are the first to account for this provenance, and its controversy. The irony of inhumane behavior is not hidden in the inventory; it is humbly displayed.