A History of the World in 100 Objects - Dr Neil MacGregor [254]
There is surely something miraculous about this technology which brings such benefits in terms of health and safety, education, communication and business. Solar panels circumvent the need for massively expensive infrastructure, and although they carry an initial cost, micro-credit schemes are increasingly available to allow the spread of payments so that lamps like ours can be paid for in instalments over one to two years from savings on kerosene. As this low-cost, clean, green technology is made available to greater numbers, it could bring enormous opportunities to the poorest people in the world.
It might also help stabilize our environment: solar power may one day be a part of the answer to our current dependence on fossil fuels and their contribution to climate change. This possibility was articulated nearly a hundred years ago by the man who more than any other deserves the credit, or the blame, for our electricity-dependent way of life – Thomas Edison. This man, who developed the light bulb and other electricity-consuming devices, was an unexpected visionary for renewable energy. In 1931 he observed to his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, ‘I’d put my money on the Sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.’
The power of the Sun seems a good place to end this global history. Solar energy may allow humanity to share more equally in the opportunities of life, and it has the potential to enable us all to enjoy them without damaging the planet. It is a dream of the future that echoes the deepest and most universal of human myths – that of the life-giving sun. You could see our solar-powered lamp as a humble echo of this myth – the fire-stealing Prometheus reduced to the role of helper in the kitchen.
Just as we learnt to preserve or bottle summer fruits so that the warmth and nourishment of summer could see us through winter, everybody has dreamt of capturing the Sun to have its light and power available at will. In Chapter 1 of this history, the Egyptian priest Hornedjitef took with him a scarab as the magical symbol of the regenerative light of the Sun, to lighten the darkness of the afterlife. Given the opportunity, he might now take a solar-powered lamp as back-up.
This 100th object brings me to the end of this particular history of the world. Other objects would have yielded different stories and taken us along different paths. The possibilities are infinite. But I hope that this book has demonstrated the power of things to connect us with unmatchable immediacy to people far distant in time and place and to allow all humanity to have a voice in our common story. Amartya Sen reflects:
When we look at the history of the world, it is very important to recognize that we are not looking at the history of different civilizations truncated and separated from each other. Civilizations have a huge amount of contact, and there is a kind of inter-connectedness. I have always thought of the history of the world not as a history of civilizations but as a history of world civilizations evolving in often similar, often diverse, ways, always interacting with each other.
Above all, I hope this book has shown that the ‘family of man’ is not an empty metaphor, however dysfunctional that family usually is; that all humanity has the same needs and preoccupations, fears and hopes. Objects force us to the humble recognition that since our ancestors left East Africa to populate the world we have changed very little. Whether in stone or paper, gold, feathers or silicon, it is certain we will go on making objects that shape or reflect our world and that will define us to future generations.
Maps
1 Mummy of Hornedjitef found: near Luxor, Egypt (Thebes)
2 Olduvai stone chopping tool found: Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
3 Olduvai handaxe found: Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania