Barter System

Barter System 

If there arises a question, “Has man always used money?”, the answer would be ‘no’. How? when did money enter into the lives of men? In this lesson, let us learn about the evolution of money over the years.

Ancient man hunted and gathered food. He lived in caves and forests. In later stages, he invented weapons for hunting and gathering food. Later, he invented fire and learnt to practise agriculture. He used mud to build houses and settle down in a place. and also to make earthenware.

When the agricultural yield was high, they made handicrafts. When there was surplus in agricultural produce and other articles like earthenware, they exchanged it with people who needed them. For example, if a community had excess food stuff, they would exchange that with those who had excess pots. Likewise, when a particular grain grew in abundance in a region, it was exchanged for a different crop in another region. These articles which were exchanged through barter system can be termed as the first form of trade.