More fascinating thoughts on the origin of money and some sexy anthropology besides

[mylescorcoran]

Yet again, David Graeber has fascinating stuff at NakedCapitalism.com.

A particularly eye-catching bit:

In the 1940s, an anthropologist, Ronald Berndt, described one dzamalag ritual, where one group in possession of imported cloth swapped their wares with another, noted for the manufacture of serrated spears. Here too it begins as strangers, after

Comments

[mizkit]

That sounds like rather a lot more fun than exchanging pieces of paper or small plastic rectangles for goods, doesn't it? :)

[marzut]

As a woman hell no. I can't say I'd enjoy being essentially raped just so my hubby could get a bit of bling AND sex with a different woman. The article makes it sound all lovely jublly but I don't imagine the anthropologist checked how willing the wives were and the penalty if they refused.

[mylescorcoran]

Still better than the prior example in the article where tribes exchanging goods would regularly end up killing one another, and then having the murderer take the name and responsibilities of the dead man, including acting as husband and father in place of the man he'd killed.