Yap rai stones (stone money)
Piedras rai (dinero de piedra) de Yap
- Date
- c. century XV (muy discutido) · confidence low
- Place
- Yap Island, Micronesia
- Credited to
- Yapese people
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Discs of limestone or aragonite up to several metres wide, quarried in Palau and carried on rafts, that served as money in large transactions: their value is acknowledged by word even if the stone does not move. It is a well-known example of money based on a shared ownership record.
The start of quarrying in Palau is poorly dated: oral traditions speak of about 500 years and archaeology suggests several centuries; large-scale use increased after European contact (iron, ships).
What it led to
- a prestige economy and alliances between Yap villages
- a classic example in the theory of money as a ledger
- long-distance sea transport from Palau