Artifact

Our Artifact series highlights interesting relics from the history of money, accounting and payroll that illustrate how we got to where we are today.  

Cowries, the currency that powered West Africa

For centuries, cowrie shells were a driving currency behind the slave trade. But their impact across Africa goes back much further than that.

Khipu, the ancient Inka accounting system

Long before Excel, accountants of the Inka Empire used knotted strings called khipu, or quipu, to record taxes and stock.

How time-tracking clocks shaped the working world

Despite being thoroughly embedded in today’s professional life, “clocking in” is a relatively modern invention.

Cashier check ‘kebabs’ sum up Naples’ financial history

This Italian port city was a business hub for centuries, and all its dealings were documented on slips of paper strung up like meat.

Until the 1940s, many U.S. coal towns ran on scrip, a company’s own currency.

Coal company scrip paid to miners often left them deep in debt

The tokens paid in lieu of cash were abundant in remote areas of the U.S. until the mid-20th century, explains history professor Lou Martin.

Cuneiform tablets reveal secrets of Mesopotamian payroll

Early payroll records were among humans’ first steps toward a writing system, explains Ali H.O. Bnayan, an archaeologist and cuneiform expert from the Iraq Museum.