Топоры как товаро-деньги в контексте их ритуального и социального значения

Abstract

During its history, money has undergone a complex evolution due to historical and cultural transformations in the different periods. Money as medium of account and exchange arose in the Neolithic era simultaneously with the new stage of social-economic relations, when the surplus of products takes on a commodity form and the barter exchange developed. In the Early Bronze Age (III millennium BC) the first statements arose, bronze and precious metals appeared in Western Asia including the Armenian Highland. At the same time measurement of weight was created in Mesopotamia, money expressed in metal objects became not only a price equivalent, but also medium of payment. The axe, as the most important tool and weapon, acquires the significance of money. Therefore, the Sumer/Akkadian shekel, which was the widespread unit of currency in Near East, originates from the word “axe”.