In the beginning of civilization, people ate what they could catch or harvest, and they dressed in animal skins. Their needs were simple, and they could survive mostly on their own.

People began to travel around to trade their extra goods to get the things they needed. They didn’t use money.

People decided they needed a unit of money to make even exchanges.

Here are some early forms of money.

The Chinese invented paper money more than 4000 years ago. It was printed on paper made from the mulberry tree.

They decided to cooperate to make each

person’s job easier.

Billy likes to make apple pies and he wants to sell them to make money.

If Billy sells lots of pies he will need a helper. His sister Susan has agreed to work with him. She will be called a human resource for his apple pie business.