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==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. <ref> For further information on women in ancient Near East society and wealth, see: Chavalas, Mark W., ed. 2012. Women in the Ancient Near East: A Sourcebook. Routledge Sourcebooks for the Ancient World. London: Routledge. </ref> 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. <ref> For more information on the Late Bronze Age gold standard, see: Edwards, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen, ed. 2003. History of the Middle East and the Aegean Region C. 1380 - 1000 B.C. 3. ed., 6. printing. The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 2, Pt. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.</ref> 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. <ref>For a history of gold and its role in ancient societies, see: Bernstein, Peter L. 2004. The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession. Illustrated ed. New York: Wiley. </ref>
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.<ref>For a history and presentation of types of ancient gold coins, see Friedberg, Arthur L., Ira S. Friedberg, and Robert Friedberg. 2003. Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present: An Illustrated Standard Catalogue with Valuations. 7th ed. Clifton, N.J: Coin and Currency Institute.</ref> 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.
