https://www.sciencealert.com/the-original-bitcoin-still-exists-as-giant-stone-money-on-a-tiny-pacific-island
> Bitcoin and the blockchain may seem like puzzling new technological concepts, > but the central tenet of this cutting-edge cryptocurrency goes back way > longer than you might believe. > > Strange as it may seem, bitcoin has a kind of bizarro historical analogue in > an ancient currency system dating back hundreds of years: giant stone disks > called rai, which were used long ago as a symbolic form of money on the > Micronesian island of Yap. > > "They are one of the world's most intriguing coins," says archaeologist Scott > Fitzpatrick the University of Oregon. > > "Carved from limestone quarries located in the Palau islands some 250 miles > (400 km) from Yap, they're the largest objects ever moved over the open > Pacific Ocean during the pre-European contact era." > > > Archaeologist Scott Fitzpatrick beside a rai stone. (Scott Fitzpatrick) > > At a glance, these massive, heavy stone monuments (which are often taller > than the people who own them) might not seem like they have a lot in common > with a digital system of value that is encrypted, intangible, and basically > invisible to human senses. > > But that physical contrast masks the stunning shared feature of bitcoin and > rai – both forms of currency depend upon a public, community ledger system, > that provides transparency about transactions, as well as security, and all > without needing a centralised bank structure. > > In bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, that public ledger is called the > blockchain: an open record of bitcoin ownership and transactions spread > across multiple computers on the internet. > > In rai – and the ancient culture of the Yapese islanders who used the giant > stone coins – there was an equally dependable antecedent to the blockchain > ledger. > > > Submerged rai stones off the coast of Yap. (Photo by Brad Holland, from > Fitzpatrick & McKeon, Economic Anthropology, 2019) > > "Rai were considered extremely valuable, but given their size, weight, and > relative fragility, they were not typically moved after being placed in a > specific location," Fitzpatrick and co-author Stephen McKeon explain in a new > study exploring the similarities. > > "As a result, if a rai were gifted or exchanged, the new owner(s) of a disk > may not have lived in close proximity to it. To ensure that ownership was > known and indisputable, an oral ledger was used within communities to > maintain transparency and security." > > According to the researchers, this oral ledger – told through stories shared > by the Yapese and passed down over generations – helped the community to > record and communicate changes in ownership of the rai, for things like > wedding gifts, political enticements, or even paying ransoms. > > The things people might use bitcoin for today are obviously different, but > the most striking thing about the two forms of currency is how the ledger > system, in principle, performs the same function. > > "As with the rai stones, information about bitcoins' value and ownership is > managed collectively," says McKeon. > > "It's a distributed financial system as opposed to the more familiar, > centralised systems involving third-party financial institutions." > https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sea2.12154 -- Kim Holburn IT Network & Security Consultant T: +61 2 61402408 M: +61 404072753 mailto:k...@holburn.net aim://kimholburn skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request _______________________________________________ Link mailing list Link@mailman.anu.edu.au http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
