A Brief History of Gold
Who discovered gold
A
child finds a shiny rock in a creek, thousands of
years ago, and the human race is introduced to gold
for the first time.
Gold
was first discovered as shining, yellow nuggets. "Gold
is where you find it," so the saying goes, and
gold was first discovered in its natural state, in
streams all over the world. No doubt it was the first
metal known to early hominids.
Gold
became a part of every human culture. Its brilliance,
natural beauty, and luster, and its great malleability
and resistance to tarnish made it enjoyable to work
and play with.
Where does gold come from ?
Because
gold is dispersed widely throughout the geologic world,
its discovery occurred to many different groups in
many different locales. And nearly everyone who found
it was impressed with it, and so was the developing
culture in which they lived.
Gold
was the first metal widely known to our species.
When thinking about the historical progress of technology,
we consider the development of iron and copper-working
as the greatest contributions to our species' economic
and cultural progress - but gold came first.
Gold
is the easiest
of the metals
to work. It
occurs in a
virtually pure
and workable
state, whereas
most other
metals tend
to be found
in ore-bodies
that pose some
difficulty
in smelting.
Gold's early
uses were no
doubt ornamental,
and its brilliance
and permanence
(it neither
corrodes nor
tarnishes)
linked it to
deities and
royalty in
early civilizations
.
Gold
has always been powerful stuff. The earliest history
of human interaction with gold is long lost to us,
but its association with the gods, with immortality,
and with wealth itself are common to many cultures
throughout the world.
Early
civilizations equated gold with gods and rulers, and
gold was sought in their name and dedicated to their
glorification. Humans almost intuitively place a high
value on gold, equating it with power, beauty, and
the cultural elite. And since gold is widely distributed
all over the globe, we find this same thinking about
gold throughout ancient and modern civilizations everywhere.
Gold, beauty, and power have always gone together. Gold in ancient times was made into shrines and idols ("the Golden Calf"), plates, cups, vases and vessels of all kinds, and of course, jewelry for personal adornment.
Gold, beauty, and power have always gone together. Gold in ancient times was made into shrines and idols ("the Golden Calf"), plates, cups, vases and vessels of all kinds, and of course, jewelry for personal adornment.
The "Gold
of Troy" treasure hoard, excavated in Turkey
and dating to the era 2450 -2600 B.C., show the range
of gold-work from delicate jewelry to a gold gravy
boat weighing a full troy pound. This was a time when
gold was highly valued, but had not yet become money
itself. Rather, it was owned by the powerful and well-connected,
or made into objects of worship, or used to decorate
sacred locations.
Gold has always had value to humans, even before it was money. This is demonstrated by the extraordinary efforts made to obtain it. Prospecting for gold was a worldwide effort going back thousands of years, even before the first money in the form of gold coins appeared about 700 B.C.
Gold has always had value to humans, even before it was money. This is demonstrated by the extraordinary efforts made to obtain it. Prospecting for gold was a worldwide effort going back thousands of years, even before the first money in the form of gold coins appeared about 700 B.C.
In
the quest for gold by the Phoenicians, Egyptians,
Indians, Hittites, Chinese, and others, prisoners
of war were sent to work the mines, as were slaves
and criminals. And this happened during a time when
gold had no value as 'money,' but was just considered
a desirable commodity in and of itself.
The 'value' of gold was accepted all over the world. Today, as in ancient times, the intrinsic appeal of gold itself has that universal appeal to humans. But how did gold come to be a commodity, a measurable unit of value?
The 'value' of gold was accepted all over the world. Today, as in ancient times, the intrinsic appeal of gold itself has that universal appeal to humans. But how did gold come to be a commodity, a measurable unit of value?
Gold, measured out, became money. Gold's beauty, scarcity, unique density (no other metal outside the platinum group is as heavy), and the ease by which it could be melted, formed, and measured made it a natural trading medium. Gold gave rise to the concept of money itself: portable, private, and permanent. Gold (and silver) in standardized coins came to replace barter arrangements, and made trade in the Classic period much easier.
Gold was money in ancient Greece. The Greeks mined for gold throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East regions by 550 B.C., and both Plato and Aristotle wrote about gold and had theories about its origins. Gold was associated with water (logical, since most of it was found in streams), and it was supposed that gold was a particularly dense combination of water and sunlight.
Their
science may have
been primitive,
but the Greeks
learned much about
the practicalities
of gold mining.
By the time of the death of Alexander of Macedon (323
B.C.), the Greeks had mined gold from the Pillars of
Hercules (Gibraltar) all the way eastward to Asia Minor
and Egypt, and we find traces of their placer mines
today. Some of the mines were owned by the state, some
were worked privately with a royalty paid to the state.
Also, nomads such as the Scythians and Cimmerians worked
placer mines all over the region. The surviving Greek
gold coinage and Scythian jewelry both show superb
artistry.
The
Roman Empire
furthered the
quest for gold.
The Romans
mined gold
extensively
throughout
their empire,
and advanced
the science
of gold-mining
considerably.
They diverted
streams of
water to mine
hydraulically,
and built sluices
and the first
'long toms.'
They mined
underground,
also, and introduced
water-wheels
and the 'roasting'
of gold-bearing
ores to separate
the gold from
rock. They
were able to
more efficiently
exploit old
mine-sites,
and of course
their chief
laborers were
prisoners of
war, slaves,
and convicts.
A monetary standard made the world economy possible. The concept of money, (i.e., gold and silver in standard weight and fineness coins) allowed the World's economies to expand and prosper. During the Classic period of Greek and Roman rule in the western world, gold and silver both flowed to India for spices, and to China for silk. At the height of the Empire (A.D. 98-160), Roman gold and silver coins reigned from Britain to North Africa and Egypt.
Money had been invented. Its name was gold.
A monetary standard made the world economy possible. The concept of money, (i.e., gold and silver in standard weight and fineness coins) allowed the World's economies to expand and prosper. During the Classic period of Greek and Roman rule in the western world, gold and silver both flowed to India for spices, and to China for silk. At the height of the Empire (A.D. 98-160), Roman gold and silver coins reigned from Britain to North Africa and Egypt.
Money had been invented. Its name was gold.
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