The earliest minting site in the world has been located in Guanzhuang, China, Prof. Hao Zhao and his team of researchers at the Zhengzhou University in China concluded in a paper published by Cambridge University on Friday.
Through excavations conducted since 2011, the archaeologists learned that the ancient city of Guanzhuang, located near the Yellow River in the Central Plains of China, was established in 800 BC and was inhabited until 450 BC.
The location of the city lay at a crossroads, as well as near strategic ports for crossing the Yellow River, thus leading the researchers to assess that the city controlled communication between the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Plain.
A craft production zone was later discovered in the middle of the city, which held bronze, jade, and bone-artifact production, according to the report. Molds discovered at the site show that bronze artifacts were produced there for vessels, weapons, instruments, and tools.
But what about money?
"The identification of archaeological evidence for minting plays a crucial role in the global study of the origins of coinage," claims the study. "The origins of metal coinage and the monetization of ancient economies have long been a research focus in both archaeology and economic history."
The team discovered spade coins, long thought to be the candidate for the first coinage. The coin looks like a small spade, but its size makes it non-functional as a tool. Later, the spade progressed into flat pieces, and characters were applied to mark their numbers. Spade coins were found all across Chinese Central Planes, but until now, their origin has remained unknown.
At Guanzhuang, in addition to two fragments of finished spade coins, the archaeologists found clay casts that were apparently used to mint these ancient pieces.
When using radiocarbon dating to date the findings, the researchers discovered the templates dated back to 640-500 BC, making Guanzhaung "the world's oldest-known, securely dated archaeological minting site."
"The minting techniques employed at Guanzhuang are characterized by batch production and a high degree of standardization and quality control, indicating that the production of spade coins was not a small-scale, sporadic experiment, but rather a well-planned and organized process in the heartland of the Central Plains of China," the authors concluded.