Barter

Barter is the direct exchange of material goods without the use of any form of money. This form of trade was used in most civilizations until the development of the idea of currency, and was still used even after money was introduced. The drawbacks of barter were that a merchant or long-range trader could not go as far, as he would have to carry all of his goods with him. However, with the development of money, merchants were able to go much farther, as they would have had a much lighter load. Some of the first civilizations to develop a form of currency were the Mesopotamian River Valley Civilization, with the use of silver as a means of exchange, and the Yellow River Valley Civilization, which used copper coins. However, the Egyptians of the Nile River Valley Civilization remained a barter-based economy for a much longer period of time.

Created by: Frances Grimball September 2, 2008 Edited by Ian Worthington, 9/3/08

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Unit 1 Terms