Q1.
In the theme “Tapestry of the Past”, you read about the crops that people grew, such as food grains or goods they made like carnelian beads. How do you think they exchanged these goods for things that they needed?
Answer
They exchanged them directly, good for good — by barter. There were no coins and no notes, so a farmer with surplus grain simply found a bead-maker who wanted grain, and the two agreed on how much grain a string of carnelian beads was worth.
The chapter's opening picture (Fig. 11.1) shows exactly this: two people pouring grain from a basket into each other's sacks in a field.
Three things made such exchanges possible in the past:
- Surplus. A family grew or made more than it needed, so it had something to give away.
- Fairs and markets. People gathered at one place on fixed days, which made it easier to find a matching partner.
- Commonly accepted goods. Things like grain, cattle, salt and cowrie shells were wanted by almost everyone, so they were easy to trade on.
Why it happens: a bead-maker cannot eat beads. Exchange is what turns a specialised skill into a full life — the potter, the weaver and the farmer each do one thing well and swap for the rest.