Massive Limestone Rai Stone used as currency on the Island of Yap, Micronesia. Ownership was transferred orally without moving the stone due to its weight [3840×2160]

These limestone discs (Rai) were quarried in Palau and transported to Yap on rafts. Because they were often too heavy to move, the community maintained a mental ledger of who owned which stone. This allowed transactions to occur without the physical asset moving.
​Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones
​Note: I am compiling a visual project mapping the history of money from clay tablets to digital currency. I pinned the full timeline to my profile for anyone interested in the evolution of trade.

Cool post. Should insight some good conversations on the “value” of “money”; and perhaps even greed. Something like this to me says that no one likes to work for free , regardless how “poor” their society is. Can’t pay me? No problem. I’ll take ownership of that big rock over there. People will always want to one up their neighbors. Man Dace, you ought to get you one of these big rocks. It will really up your position in our neighborhood. One of my biggest takeaways from studying archeology is that basic human behaviors never change.

First banking without real money transferred in this region.