tour 1 of 20
Enlightenment: Classifying the World
Enlightenment: Classifying the World
During the Enlightenment there was an important change in the
way people investigated the natural world and human history.
Initially, most people relied on books and texts as the main
sources of evidence, and wealthy gentlemen sought to assemble
libraries of learning. But a number of scholars also began to draw
on other sources of evidence. Some collected or studied objects
such as vases, which they used to investigate human history. In
natural philosophy (or science), experimentation also became an
important tool for investigation alongside the collection and
organisation of specimens.
In oder to use these new types of evidence, scholars began to
organize objects and knowledge in new ways. Some classified
artefacts such as coins within chronological sequences that
followed the accounts of ancient texts. Others based their systems
on notions of progress that ordered the objects according to
criteria such as artistic style.
As well as studying their own objects, many collectors shared
their discoveries through publications that helped to establish the
new knowledge and raise public awareness of it.
This is one of a series of tours exploring the themes of the
British Museum's new gallery, Enlightenment: Discovering
the World in the Eighteenth Century.
Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund