How Did Gold Become Desired by Ancient Civilizations

Introduction

Gold is first known to have been acquired by ancient human societies in the 4th millennium BC, a time when copper and metals were beginning to be utilized more frequently. This suggests this is a period when pyrotechnologies improved, allowing metals to be developed more substantially. In fact, when gold appears in the New World, it also appears to be associated with the early development of pyrotechnologies, suggesting gold develops early as metallurgy developed. This likely also means gold, and its luster properties, were desired early on by societies able to master pyrotechnologies to extract and create gold artifacts.

Early Use of Gold

One of the oldest known uses of gold appears to be in Bulgaria, from a site that is called Varna Necropolis or Varna Cemetery, which dates to around 4600 BC. The site is a burial ground were a number of gold artifacts were found to be in clear burial contexts with human skeletons. Surprisingly, out of the more than 200 graves found, many of them contained gold and other metal finds (primarily copper). One individual seemed to have far more gold buried with him, with objects including a gold mace, jewelry, and even a penis sheath made of gold (Figure 1).

Figure 1. One the earliest gold graves found, at the site of Varna Necropolis, where the high status individual is buried with a substantial amount of gold.

In the southern Levant, a cave in the area of Nahal Qanah contained eight artifacts from a burial context that suggests a type of elite burial ground could have been established by the 4th millennium BC. In fact, the find suggests gold could have already become the privy of the most elite in society.

In Egypt and Mesopotamia, the two main regions where early urban cultures developed, gold was also used by the 5th millennium BC. In Egypt, mining was likely already taking place in areas where gold deposits were found, probably in areas of southern Egypt or even Nubia. In Mesopotamia, the first gold appears in the 5th millennium BC during the Ubaid period. We begin to get references to gold in texts by the 3rd millennium BC, showing it becoming an important object for imports. However, in many cases, where gold has been discovered, it was found as an alloy with silver (i.e., electrum). At times, gold was also alloyed with lead, indicating that pure gold was generally more rare.

By the early 3rd millennium BC, gold becomes symbolic with royal authority in Egypt. Expeditions were now organized for mines containing gold. In the Indus, by the 3rd millennium BC, and likely earlier, gold was also utilized extensively, reflecting its increased importance for elites and trade. Similar to other regions, gold was generally found as part of electrum, which is also a natural alloy.

In the New World, the region of the Andes, in Peru specifically, has the earliest dated gold finds, where objects date to around 2000 BC have been found. Interestingly, these early gold finds are in the form of jewelry and found in burial context, similar to the Old World discoveries. This could suggest, similar to other regions, that as social hierarchy and stratification became established, gold was one object that differentiated the status of humans within society. In other words, gold becomes associated with wealth and power soon after it begins to be used (Figure 2).

Figure 2. A ceremonial knife from Peru, dated to 850-1500 AD, showing that gold developed independently in the New World.

Role in Society

In the cases where gold was found at relatively early dates, several characteristics are evident. For one, gold is often found in funerary contexts, suggesting it was both a status symbol in life but also something to be taken to the next life. Perhaps this reflects the next life or afterlife similarly is characterized by social stratification. In fact, as social hierarchy developed in ancient societies, which seems to be true both in the New and Old Worlds, gold was often one object that differentiated individuals in many societies. This is evident in finds from Peru, Bulgaria, Egypt, southern Levant, and Mesopotamia. In the ancient Near East, gold was often found as jewelry with women, suggesting women often wore gold as representing family wealth or were often the ones who literally wore the family's wealth. It is also by the 3rd millennium BC that we begin to see gold having more of a trade value, although very likely this occurred earlier. We see evidence of gold being shipped in from distant regions, such as India or Anatolia, in places such as Mesopotamia. In the 2nd millennium BC, when the trade in gold became more substantial in the eastern Mediterranean region, it is during this active time of trade that gold becomes also a standard used to measure value of other commodities. Between 1600-1200 BC, the Late Bronze Age saw gold becoming the basis of value for many valuable objects now being traded between Central Asia and the Mediterranean, including metals such as tin and copper. However, this was a relatively exceptional period, as in most other Bronze Age periods silver was considered the more common standard, given its greater prevalence.

During the 1st millennium BC, by around the 6th century BC in the Near East and eastern Mediterranean Hellenistic states, we begin to see coins now utilized with gold. In fact, it is one of the first metals to be fashioned into coins, suggesting coinage and gold were used for high value exchange. While this largely reflects gold’s role as an object utilized for trade and exchange, it now also shows royal authority was beginning to stamp gold with iconography as a way to show government-level backing. This helps establish the concept of currency and standardized value more substantially. The concept accelerates in the late 1st millennium BC across the Mediterranean world, where gold became associated with top-level currency and utilized for high value exchanges. This concept of gold currency continues and was retained into the modern era.

Conclusion

Gold seems to be one of these objects that has independent origins in many societies in the New and Old worlds (the Americas, Asia, and Africa). This suggests the qualities of gold as being attractive to human societies seems almost universal or innate. Gold utilization in societies evolves over time as a basis for economies. By the time currency or coins are used, gold becomes a high level standard that royal authority supports and uses as a basis in economic exchange by placing the image of the king on currency. This helps to standardize its value and this concept continues into the modern era, while gold’s value and importance to society has only increased since ancient periods.

References

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