15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
==Early Use of Gold==
One of the oldest known uses of gold appears to be in Bulgaria, from a site that is called Varna Necropolis or Varna Cemetery, which dates to around 4600 BC.<ref>For detailed information about the Varna Necropolis, see: Ivanov, Ivan Simeonov, and Mai︠a︡ Avramova, eds. 2000. ''Varna Necropolis: The Dawn of European Civilization''. Treasures of Bulgaria 1. Sofia: Agatʹo Publ.</ref> The site is a burial ground were a number of gold artifacts were found to be in burial contexts associated with a variety of individuals. Surprisingly, out of the more than 200 graves found, many of them contained gold and other metal finds (primarily copper; Figure 1). This indicates a society that had already developed a strong affinity toward gold and it became a status object for many members of society. However, we also begin to see that not all individuals were treated equally. One individual seemed to have far more gold buried with him, with objects including a gold mace, jewelry, and even a penis sheath made of gold (Figure 2). This could indicate that this society had begun to develop a type of chiefdom society, where one individual did accumulate more power than others and consequently have more gold than the other graves.
In Egypt and Mesopotamia, the southern Levanttwo main regions where early urban cultures developed, a cave in the area of Nahal Qanah contained eight artifacts from a burial context that suggests a type of elite burial ground could have been established gold was used by the 4th 5th millennium BC. In factEgypt, the find suggests significant mining was likely already taking place in areas where gold could have already become the privy deposits were commonly found, mainly in areas of the most elite in societysouthern Egypt and Nubia.<ref>For more information about the Nahal Qanah cavegold mining and gold in Egypt, see: GopherKlemm, Rosemarie, and Dietrich Klemm. 2013. ''Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia: Geoarchaeology of the Ancient Gold Mining Sites in the Egyptian and Sudanese Eastern Deserts''. New York: Springer.</ref> In Mesopotamia, Avithe first gold appears in the 5th millennium BC during the Ubaid period. We begin to get references to gold in texts by the 3rd millennium BC, Tseviḳah Tsuḳshowing it becoming an important object for imports. What early texts also show is that states had a large control of the gold trade, although it was not exclusive to states. Nevertheless, gold became mostly associated with priests/temples and Iroyalty. CarmiPrivate households also traded gold and often did attempt to acquire it as an important long-term holding, but rarely was gold buried by private houses with graves (i. 1996e., it was probably far too valuable for common households to remove this item from their wealth). <ref>For examples of how gold was possibly used by households in ancient Mesopotamia, see: Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea. 1998. ''Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia''. The Naḥal Qanah CaveGreenwood Press “Daily Life through History” Series. Westport, Conn: Earliest Greenwood Press, pg. 123.</ref> Gold , for private households, becomes a way for families to preserve and pass on wealth, given its great value and non-perishable nature.[[File:Peru Zeremonialmesser Sican EthnM.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 3. A ceremonial knife from Peru, dated to 850-1500 AD, showing that gold developed independently in the Southern LevantNew World. Monograph Series / Tel Aviv University]]In many cases, where gold has been discovered, it was found as an alloy with silver (i.e., electrum). At times, gold was also alloyed with lead, indicating that pure gold was generally more rare.<ref>For more information about gold in Mesopotamia, see: Leick, Sonia Gwendolyn. 2010. Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia. 2nd ed. Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Marco Nadler Institute of ArchaeologyHistorical Eras, no. 1226. Tel AvivLanham: Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University Publications SectionScarecrow Press, pg. 79.</ref>In fact, in addition to providing extra strength, alloys also allow the one to utilize more of gold find to create larger objects that look like gold. This gives an appearance of an even larger gold object.
In the New World, the region of the Andes, in Peru specifically, has the earliest dated gold finds, where objects date to around 2000 BC have been found. Interestingly, these early gold finds are in the form of jewelry and found in burial context, similar to the Old World discoveries. <ref> For more information about the earliest gold artefacts from Peru, see: Aldenderfer, M., N. M. Craig, R. J. Speakman, and R. Popelka-Filcoff. 2008. “Four-Thousand-Year-Old Gold Artifacts from the Lake Titicaca Basin, Southern Peru.” ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 '' (13): 5002–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.0710937105. </ref> This could suggest, similar to other regions, that as social hierarchy and stratification became established, gold was one object that differentiated the status of humans within society. In other words, gold becomes associated with wealth and power soon after it begins to be used (Figure 23). ==Role in Society==[[File:Reconstructed sumerian headgear necklaces british museum.JPG|thumbnail|Figure 4. The gold headdress of Queen/Priestess Puabi. Gold, by the 3rd millennium BC, had become associated with royalty and the religious elite of society in Mesopotamia and Egypt.]] In the cases where gold was found at relatively early dates, several characteristics are evident. For one, gold is often found in funerary contexts, suggesting it was both a status symbol in life but also something to be taken to the next life. Interestingly, in many of the finds from the Old and New World indicate that gold, despite its rarity, was from its onset a way to display power in the afterlife and as a way to remind others of the power and prestige of the individual to members of society after they had passed away. <ref>Boyle, Robert W. 1987. ''Gold History and Genesis of Deposits''. Boston, MA: Springer US. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1969-6.</ref> This concept continues when we see the development of state societies. Kingship, and by extension the state, begin to utilize gold more frequently for burials and in many of these cases it was a way to display power in the present and afterlife.
==Evolution of Gold==During the 1st millennium BC, by around the 6th century BC in the Near East and eastern Mediterranean Hellenistic states, we begin to see coins now utilized with gold. <ref>For more on the evolution of early coins and gold coins, see: Leslie Kurke. 1999. Coins, Bodies, Games and Gold. The Politics of Meaning in Archaic Greece. Princeton: Princeton University Press.</ref> In fact, it is one of the first metals to be fashioned into coins, suggesting coinage gold coins and gold coins i general were used first intended for high value exchange. While this largely reflects gold’s role as an object utilized for trade and exchange, it now also shows royal authority was beginning to stamp gold with iconography as a way to show government-level backing.This derives from the concept of gold and royalty we had seen in the third millennium BC graves and other royal or high elite status. In effect, coinage and gold become established as the privy of the state <ref>For a history and presentation of types of ancient gold coins, see Friedberg, Arthur L., Ira S. Friedberg, and Robert Friedberg. 2003. ''Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present: An Illustrated Standard Catalogue with Valuations''. 7th ed. Clifton, N.J: Coin and Currency Institute.</ref> This helps establish the concept of currency and standardized value more substantially. The concept accelerates in the late 1st millennium BC across the Mediterranean world, where gold became associated with top-level currency and utilized for high value exchanges. This concept of gold currency continues and was retained into the modern era.
==Conclusion==
Gold can be seen to be something of great desire in many societies in the New and Old worlds (the Americas, Asia, and Africa). Despite the diversity of the location of where gold was first found, at the onset gold was seen as a way to differentiate the power of individuals, in this life and the afterlife. This suggests the qualities of gold as being attractive to human societies seems almost universal or innate. Gold utilization in societies evolves over time as a basis for economies. By the time currency or coins are used, gold becomes a high level standard that royal authority can only support and uses as a basis in economic exchange by placing the image of the king on currency. This begins to make gold as something to be controlled by state societies and their primary privy rather than that of common individuals. With the control of gold by governments, this begins to help standardize its value and this concept continues into the modern era, while gold’s value and importance to society has only increased since ancient periods.
<div class="portal" style="width:85%;">
==Related DailyHistory.org Articles==
*[[How did the Silk Road develop?]]
*[[What Caused the Rise of Agriculture?]]
*[[When was Insurance First Used?]]
*[[How did Early Empires facilitate the Rise of Investment Banking?]]
</div>
{{Mediawiki:Ancient Greece}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Wikis]]
[[Category:Ancient History]]
[[Category:Metal Economic History]]
{{Contributors}}