Humans are creative.
Across the ancient world, civilizations experimented with early forms of money.
They used:
Shells (especially cowrie shells in Africa and Asia)Salt (so valuable Roman soldiers were partly paid in it — the origin of the word "salary")Spices (like pepper, once worth its weight in gold)Beads, furs, livestock
Anything that was:
DurableDivisiblePortableRecognizable
could serve as money.
But these forms still had limits.
Shells could be faked.
Salt could be ruined by rain.
Spices could rot.
Societies needed a universal standard of value — something trusted, rare, and permanent.
Enter gold.