6942 B.C.
I am sitting under a tree, waiting for one of the hunters from my tribe. He killed a wild boar today, so large that the meat would be too much even for whole tribe. In our tribe, the family of the hunter who makes the kill gets the extra food, but even that was more than his family could eat before it spoiled. So, he was willing to exchange it for something else.
I'm not much of a hunter, but I have a sharp eye for gathering. I collect fruits, nuts, herbs, and sometimes stones. The hunter showed particular interest in a stone I had, a small blue one with black markings. He thought it was from the gods and would bring good fortune to his family.
As I saw him coming towards me carrying huge chunk of meat on his shoulder, I begun to feel that the small stone wasn’t enough for such a big trade. The meat would feed my family for several days, while the stone seemed insignificant by comparison. I had found it by pure luck, while wandering near the river during the day.
We exchanged greetings, though in our time, they were simple gestures, maybe a nod or a hand on the chest. Words weren’t as important as actions.
Before I could say anything about how small the stone was compared to the meat, he saw the blue stone clearly hanging from my waist. He dropped to his knees, tears in his eyes. He started to explain that this stone was worth far more than the meat. He believed it was a blessing from the gods, and that whoever possessed it would be safe and prosperous, especially protected from diseases. He told me that sickness had killed all his brothers and sisters, and now he feared for the rest of his family.
I remembered the shaman of our tribe, who had spoken about my stone during a gathering five moons ago. He said the stone was a part of the sky god's spirit, and whoever held it would be safe from illness. The hunter had been at that gathering and had longed for the stone ever since. He told me his firstborn had died of the same disease that took his siblings when the child was only two months old. To him, this stone wasn’t just a trinket; it was something that could save his whole family from the same fate.
I was taken aback by his reaction, as I hadn’t expected this. For a moment, I thought about asking for more in the trade. If he valued the stone so much, maybe I could secure more food in the future by trading it for something even bigger. After all, my family often lived on gathered fruits and nuts, and we struggled during the times when meat was scarce.
But then I saw the tears in his eyes again, and I remembered the shaman’s words: "the gods value honesty and truth between tribesmen". It was wrong to deceive him.
So, I tried to tell him the truth. I didn’t think the trade was fair, not in the way he saw it. I had found the stone easily, and I didn’t believe it had such power. But he thought I was just being humble. His gratitude was overwhelming, and soon we both agreed to exchange the meat for the stone, with love and thankfulness.
We made the exchange, and it felt like something bigger than just trading goods. It was as if we became brothers from the same mother. We said goodbye to each other with a nod as the sun was setting on the green jungle.
This was one of the best days of my life. My family would eat well for at least seven days, maybe more. But I also remembered what happened the last time I kept a piece of meat for too long. Worms had gotten into it, and though I ate the worms (they’re usually tasty), they gave me a fever that lasted for many days. I promised myself I wouldn’t let meat sit for too long again.
This time, though, the meat was huge. My family wouldn’t be able to finish it all, and carrying it around wasn’t practical. We were semi-nomadic, moving when the seasons changed, and I didn’t have a proper way to store it.
So, I thought, why not trade some of it? I could keep what we needed for two days and exchange the rest with my partner in gathering. I knew he hadn’t had meat in a long time. Maybe I could trade the meat for more stones like the one I had just given away. He didn’t know the story about the gods and the stone’s power, so I could easily ask for five stones in return. But I wondered if it would be right to do so.
