Shelling Out: The Origins of Money
Shelling Out: The Origins of Money
Nick Szabo
Originally published in 2002
Abstract
The precursors of money, along with language, enabled early modern humans to solve problems of cooperation that other animals cannot – including problems of reciprocal altruism, kin altruism, and the mitigation of aggression. These precursors shared with non-fiat currencies very specific characteristics – they were not merely symbolic or decorative objects.