News Anthropology

How an ancient stone money system works like cryptocurrency

Archaeologists see similarities between giant coins carved from stone and cryptocurrencies

rai money display

BEEN THERE DONE THAT Yap islanders in Micronesia sailed to nearby islands for limestone to carve into huge disks used as money called rai. 

S. Fitzpatrick

By Bruce Bower

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Anthropology

  1. models of an early human skull and an apelike skull with brains highlighted in blue
    Anthropology

    Ancient humans may have had apelike brains even after leaving Africa

    By Charles Choi
  2. human skull from early humans in Europe
    Genetics

    Europe’s oldest known humans mated with Neandertals surprisingly often

    By Bruce Bower
  3. parent working on a computer while child makes a funny face in the background
    Science & Society

    Parents in Western countries report the highest levels of burnout

    By Sujata Gupta
  4. sheepskin parchment deed
    Anthropology

    How using sheepskin for legal papers may have prevented fraud

    By Anushree Dave
  5. bones of a man and woman with artifacts in a bronze age grave
    Anthropology

    Riches in a Bronze Age grave suggest it holds a queen

    By Bruce Bower
  6. painting of a Neandertal man and child on the Iberian plains
    Anthropology

    Finds in a Spanish cave inspire an artistic take on warm-weather Neandertals

    By Bruce Bower
  7. Ardi skull
    Anthropology

    Ardi may have been more chimplike than initially thought — or not

    By Bruce Bower
  8. Burned remains of a woman
    Anthropology

    A body burned inside a hut 20,000 years ago signaled shifting views of death

    By Bruce Bower

From the Nature Index

Paid Content