One - Rethinking the Origins of Money

Summary

This introductory chapter presents the topic of money’s emergence in the eastern Mediterranean centuries prior to the invention of coinage, an important development with far-reaching effects, placing the study of money in early antiquity in the framework of thinking about the origins of money in human societies. The study of early money in the eastern Mediterranean Iron Age contributes to a better understanding of the interregional processes that shaped the eastern Mediterranean world from the end of the Late Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age, while at the same time providing valuable insights into the important question of how money came into being. It would, however, be a mistake to assume that money has a single historical origin. Rather than being the result of a linear evolution, it is argued that money’s importance in the politics of value in any given society can rise, transform, and subside depending on the circumstances.