I found this an interesting interview about the history of money and debt.
Check it out.
What is Debt? An Interview with Economic Anthropologist David GraeberDavid Graeber currently holds the position of Reader in Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths University London. Prior to this he was an associate professor of anthropology at Yale University. He is the author of Debt: The First 5,000 Years which is available from Amazon.
Interview conducted by Philip Pilkington, a journalist and writer based in Dublin, Ireland.
Philip Pilkington: Lets begin. Most economists claim that money was invented to replace the barter system. But youve found something quite different, am I correct?
David Graeber: Yes theres a standard story were all taught, a once upon a time its a fairy tale.
Debt is too personal to discuss and too private to broadcast. But since this is the topic of today, debt for me is something that you lend and something that you need to pay. Debt is also in the form credit or owing money from someone in which sometimes has interests.