Shopping centers are the best examples that show how far the modern world has come in terms of commerce and trading. If you ever need to buy something like books, toiletries, tools, shoes or perhaps a new set of clothes, you usually run to the nearest shopping center to get them. It is also the place we go to eat, watch a movie or even get a haircut. And with the fast-paced growth of internet commerce, we all are now reaping the benefits of shopping for goods and services online. We do not even have to get dressed and leave the house to go shopping now. You can order almost anything online – clothes, furniture, gadgets and even groceries. Everything has become so convenient.
Barter Trading
But how did trading and commerce start? Where are its origins? Most of us know that the earliest form of trade is bartering. Basically, barter is a form of trade where a party gives goods or items in exchange for another. This system is known to have been used since 150,000 years ago, long before the emergence of currency. Common items used in barter are exotic foodstuffs, fruits, tea, herbs, fabrics, minerals and metals. Services can also be bartered. A man may offer to become a porter in exchange for food.
However, no society, whether ancient or modern, has been known to be completely reliant on the barter system. Before money and currency existed, “gift economics” was another main source of trade. Gift economics is a system where people give others goods and services without expecting immediate return. Unlike barter, which is only used with complete strangers, this system is only used with people familiar people like family, friends and neighbors.
Eventually, a measurable system with which to trade emerged. One of the first known currencies was the “shekel” from Mesopotamia. It emerged sometime in 3,000 BC and was both a currency and a measurement of weight for goods. The use of gold and silver coins was pioneered by the Lydians, according to Herodotus and most modern scholars.
Shekel 300 BCE
The place where people converge to trade goods and services is called a marketplace. The oldest known marketplace is Iran’s Isfahan Grand Bazaar, which dates back since the 10th century and is mostly a covered marketplace. Built in the 15th century, the Istanbul Grand Bazaar in Turkey is said to have 4,000 shops along more than 58 streets and is still considered to be one of the largest covered markets in the world.
The covered marketplaces then started spreading to the rest of the world. But it was not until the 1950’s when fully-enclosed shopping centers emerged. Nowadays, shopping malls can be found all over the worldwide. To date, the largest mall is the South China Mall in Dongguan, China. This beast of a shopping mall is measured at 7.1 million square feet. The ten largest malls in the world can be found in China, the Philippines, UAE, Turkey, Canada, Malaysia and the USA.
Furthermore, with the help of the advances in technology and the internet, global commerce is now also becoming part of everyday living. Want to buy a rare book from Italy? You can now do exactly that at a click of a mouse.
Bartering actually seems to become popular again. The today’s marketplaces are called BarterQuest or similar and found on the internet. On the mentioned website (www.barterquest.com) it’s even possible to trade real estate properties. Good thing, if you want to make some vacation but don’t want to pay a fortune for a hotel.
Greetings
Tedd