ABSTRACT
Meeting places where goods were exchanged and markets were held may rightly be considered to have originated very early. In this matter, people would naturally be attracted to districts where some special commodity was to be had, as, for instance, salt. But festivals also offered an opportunity for exchange which was furthered by religious and magical ceremonies. If we take into consideration the acquisitive impulses, sometimes increased by special circumstances, and the universal mistrust of strangers, we shall understand the restrictions which often accompanied exchange and which led in some cases to silent trading, and in others to armed markets. Markets are not found everywhere; their absence, while indicating a certain isolation and a tendency to seclusion, is not associated with any particular economic development, any more than such can be inferred from their presence.
