Great Beginnings

In the beginning there was clay. A sampler pack of Sculpey III to be exact. Thirty one-ounce bars, rich with color and gleaming with potential. If you've had a "Great Beginning" with clay, you can probably relate in one way or another. In those days, I knew very little about polymer clay. Yet, I was intrigued, fascinated and curious. Would this 'stuff' really turn out to be a malleable, formable, carveable, caneable, oven-curing plastic?! It seemed to good to be true...

Long before any of our adventures with polymer clay began, there was another "Great Beginning" in clay. Did you know that clay tokens have been in circulation for thousands of years? Archaeological evidence suggests that our ancestors created clay tokens for various reasons. Some ancient clay artifacts seem to represent artistic or religious expression. Other clay artifacts are of a utilitarian nature. Still, others represent a marriage of expression and utility - technological tools. It was these latter clay tokens that changed the shape of human history.

Ten thousand years ago, in Mesopotamia, civilization began to flourish. Our ancestors developed agriculture, livestock, and trade. Individuals and families began to network and form groups. Groups began to seek out information and goods from other groups. Eventually, networks of trade were developed amongst these groups.

We can imagine what some of these trades may have been like. Perhaps a sheep was given in exchange for bushels of wheat. Perhaps jugs of oil were given in exchange for furs. Perhaps information or knowledge were shared in exchange for labor of some sort. In time, our ancestors developed the need for accountability and proof of these transactions.

At this time in history, however, there was no form of written language. There were pictorial representations dating back tens of thousands of years. Still, humanity had yet to create a physical depiction of words.

In order to create a receipt of their transactions, our ancestors developed an accounting system that circulated clay tokens as evidence of their 'proof-of-trade.' This was done in a 1:1 ratio. One sheep equaled one token. Two vessels of oil equaled two tokens. And so on and so forth. In time the tokens became more and more complex. They created different tokens to represent different things. For example, tokens representing sheep might have been round; whereas tokens representing vessels of oil might have been conical.

As our ancestors gained experience with organizing, transporting, and storing these tokens, systems and innovations developed. Many of the ancient tokens were pierced so that they could be strung together. Thus, creating a representation of numerous transactions taking place within a certain time-frame or encounter. Eventually, this led to the invention of bullae. Bullae were clay envelopes used to seal, transport, and store tokens.

The word bulla describes a bubble-like structure. Whenever a transaction took place, a hollow vessel of clay would be formed. The tokens from the transaction would be placed inside of this vessel. Then, they would seal the bulla with the tokens inside. If the transaction ever needed to be verified, the bulla could be broken open and the tokens inside could be counted.

The problem that this presented was that the tokens could not be seen without destroying the original seal. So, our ancestors began to incorporate a most innovative technique during the course of these transactions. They would press each of the tokens onto the outer surface of the bulla before sealing them inside. In this way, the contents of the bullae could be 'read' without actually having to break the seal. It also created a convenient record of each transaction that could be transported and stored for future reference. The bullae would only need to be broken open if a dispute were to occur. In the case of a dispute, they could compare the impressions on the exterior of the bullae with the actual contents inside.

Eventually, the bullae were replaced with clay tablets. The tokens would be impressed onto a clay tablet and then this tablet could be 'read' as a means to verify the transaction. As you may know, cuneiform was the predecessor to written language. What you may not know, however, is that the word cuneiform means wedge-shaped. Our ancestors eventually developed an ancient form of writing through the process of impressing wedge-shaped objects into clay. At first they used tokens, then graduated to utilizing different types of wedge-shaped styli. ...And the rest is history!

Getting back to the beginning...

It was my desire to share the story of the history of clay tokens with you so that you could marvel over the rich history and vast potential that clay has to offer. Whether you are a beginner, opening your first package of clay, or whether you are master artisan having known clay for most of your life - know that each time you hold a piece of clay in your hand, you are holding a medium that has been utilized by humans since the beginning of recorded history! Indeed, clay tokens were the precursors to one of the foremost milestones of the human race - written language!

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Notes:

1. The picture shown above is my rendition of "clay tokens with bulla" modeled in polymer clay.

2. For more information regarding the development of written language, I recommend the book How Writing Came About by Denise Schmandt-Besserat