Euro, dollars, pesos. Money is so important in our lives that it is impossible not to think about it at some point. We use them every day, we earn, we spend, we save. But do we ever stop and ask ourselves where they come from?
For a long time money was thought to have emerged instead of barter exchanges or that they are a creation of the state to organize the economy. However, a recent study by archaeologist Michael Fauvel, published in Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, could completely change what we know about the origin of money.
Was money born from trade and not from the state?
Until now, explanations for the birth of money have been divided into two main theories. First Commodity Money theory defended by the economist Carl Menger states that certain valuable goods, such as gold, silver or sinks that began to be used as money because they solved the problems of exchange.
In this system, both sides had to want what the other side offered at the same time, so the exchange was complicated. As a solution, goods with a generally accepted value were introduced.
Second Cartel theory, argues that money did not appear on the market by itself, but was imposed by the state. According to Georg Friedrich Knapp, governments determined what was to be used as money and required it to be used to pay taxes. John Maynard Keynes supported this idea, arguing that money is primarily a tool of the state to control the economy.
The study proposes a different hypothesis: Money was born outside communities or imposed by the state, but in long-distance trade.
In societies where there was no centralized government, the exchange of close people could be based on trust and reciprocity, but trading with strangers required a reliable means of payment. Thus, money emerged as a solution to help ensure the security of transactions on trade routes, connecting remote regions.
Money in ancient societies
To support his theory, two archaeological cases were analyzed that show the early use of money in the context of interregional trade.
On the one hand, indigenous communities in California and the southwestern United States have been around for more than a thousand years how money was used for shell beads. These small items were easy to transport and difficult to forge, making them ideal for long-distance trade. In Spanish chronicles, it is recorded that they were used in vast territories.
On the other hand, in Bronze Age Europe (1500-800 BC) Bronze ingots and rings were also used as money. Archaeological analyses revealed that these items had a standardized weight and size, suggesting that they were used as a means of payment. In addition, chemical studies show that copper was obtained from various regions of the continent, which testifies to extensive trade.
This discovery casts doubt on the idea that money originated only in local markets or as an obligation imposed by the state. Long before the advent of centralized governments, some societies were already using the monetary system Trading with strangers and to ensure secure transactions.
These groups were not primitive economies, they created forms of money adapted to their needs, which allowed the expansion of trade networks and the establishment of exchanges with distant peoples.
This study shows that money was not only a creation of the state or a simple evolution of barter exchange, but also a commercial innovation that facilitated exchange between societies separated by great distances.
