Chapter 1 : The Origin of Gold
The morning light of the Neolithic Age pierced the sparse forest and fell on the shallows of the Tigris River. A barefoot tribal boy bent down to drink water, and his fingertips suddenly touched an unusual stone—it was not as rough as a pebble, nor as dull as soil. It glowed warm and dazzling in the sun, like crushed sunlight sinking to the bottom of the river. Curious, the boy picked it up, and its heavy weight pressed against his palm. Rubbing it with his fingertips, he could even pinch out fine lines. This was the first encounter between humans and gold.
At that time, humans did not know that this thing they called “sunstone” would grow intertwined with the veins of civilization in the thousands of years to come. Archaeologists later discovered gold ornaments from 4600 BC in the Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria. Those smooth gold necklaces and bracelets proved that as early as more than 5,000 years ago, humans had mastered the initial gold processing techniques, turning this gift of nature into objects for sacrifice and decoration.
Rivers were messengers of gold, washing placer gold down from the mountains and paving the initial path for humans to discover gold. The ancient Egyptians traced the source of the Nile River and found rich gold mines in the land of Nubia. They regarded gold as the sweat of the sun god Ra, firmly believing that it could bring eternal life. In the pharaohs’ tombs, gold masks covered the mummies’ faces, and gold coffins wrapped their immortal obsessions. The gold artifacts in Tutankhamun’s tomb exhausted two-thirds of ancient Egypt’s annual gold output at that time, forging power and faith into every inch of golden light.
The Sumerians in the Mesopotamia were also attracted by the luster of gold. They used gold to make sacrificial vessels and kings’ crowns. The Golden Bull’s Head Lyre unearthed in the city of Ur, with its gold foil-covered body inlaid with gems, played the movement of civilization and wealth. At this time, although gold had not yet become currency, it had already become a scarce wealth recognized by all tribes. In the era of barter, it quietly built a consensus on value.
On the land of the East, the figure of gold also appeared early. In the Yin Ruins of the Shang Dynasty, gold foil was cut into fine patterns to decorate the nobles’ artifacts; in the sacrificial pits of Sanxingdui, gold masks and gold scepters lay quietly, freezing the ancient Shu people’s awe and worship into golden light that spanned thousands of years. These scattered gold ornaments silently tell the common love for gold among different civilizations—its rarity, tenacity and eternity allowed humans to find a carrier that could carry faith and wealth in their ignorance.
From the accidental pick-up at the bottom of the river to the conscious mining and processing, the discovery of gold is also the course of human civilization’s awakening. It witnessed the rise and fall of tribes, carried the glory of dynasties, and connected the civilized veins of different continents. When the first ray of golden light fell into human palms, an obsession spanning thousands of years took root and sprouted, destined to shine an undiminished light in the long river of human history.
