I remember learning about bartering in some elementary school, but it didn’t occur to me to ask until now. How the heck does a society collectively agree that “mm yes these metal circles equate to cows”? Does the government just give everyone 100 shmeckles and let supply and demand cover the rest?
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There never was a society with a bartering system. We haven’t been able to find any evidence of a society which used bartering instead of money. Instead, smaller scale societies which hadn’t yet devised some medium of exchange used a system of reciprocal gifting.
So I give you 10 spears, now you owe me. Later on, I need a cow, so you give me your spare cow. We all know that a cow is worth more than 10 spears, so now I owe you. I hold a big feast and invite your family, and now we’re even. Then you need some arrowheads, so I give you some. And so on.
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