ForexSpirit

There’s an interesting article in this week’s Economist on what could be humanity’s earliest form of currency.

Researchers have found very old snail shells in various parts of Africa that seem to have been fashioned into beads. Very old, as in 82,000 years ago. The similarity in the beads in the disparate locations across the continent has led the researchers to postulate that “an ancient human society [...] may have developed a long-distance system of trade and cultural exchange”.

Fascinating stuff.

While you’re browsing The Economist website, you’ll also find a useful article on slightly more modern currency matters that looks at the waxing and waning of monetarism. It’s been out of vogue for quite a while now. Could it be due for a comeback?