New Study of Ancient Societies Explains Why Money Was Invented

From Ancient Origins

Theories about the origins of money, one of the most impactful and transformative inventions in human history, have long sparked debates. A recent study by Mikael Fauvelle, a Swedish archaeologist at Lund University, presents a firm and distinctive viewpoint, namely that money was created primarily for facilitating inter-regional trade between strangers, rather than for collecting taxes (as those who credit the creation of money to the state claim).

Fauvelle’s study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, concludes that money in its most ancient forms evolved as a tool to ease trade between individuals separated by cultural barriers—an idea he refers to as the “trade theory of money.”