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The Cucuteni-Trypillian Culture is probably the most fascinating Neolithic culture of Europe. It
existed from around 5500 BC - 2750 BC. They built massive settlements that served as
prototypes for cities, some of which grew to an immense size of 15,000 people. They are
fascinating because of a number of reasons, including their religious curiosities, their giant cities,
their pottery and sculptures, their use of the earlier Vinča symbols and their barter tokens. We'll
cover a couple of these items on the blog shortly, but for now we'll focus on the barter tokens.
All of those 3000 sites indicate a shared cultural heritage, but not a a formalized country or
empire. Each site was probably something like a city-state, in that they were independent from
all of the others. But, each "city" was about 3-4 km apart from one another and this allowed for
extensive trade routs. By making trading easier for people, the various "cities" were able to
prosper. This innovation and lack of government insight explains the longevity of the society.
Current politicians would do well to see the effectiveness in letting businesses do what they're
best at. Current politics aside though, these barter tokens show an evolution in business.
Eventually things like barter tokens would transform into currency and we'd end up with the
system we have today, which is working super. Just ask the Greeks...
Throughout the 2,750 years of its existence, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was fairly stable and static;
however, there were changes that took place. This article addresses some of these changes that have to
do with the economic aspects. These include the basic economic conditions of the culture, the
development of trade, interaction with other cultures and the apparent use of barter tokens, an early
form of money.1
1
- Khol, Philip L. (2002). "Archeological transformations: crossing the pastoral/agricultural bridge".
Iranica Antiqua. Leiden: E.J. Brill. 37: 151–190. OCLC 60616426. Retrieved 21 November 2009.