Human Heads
Sporadic evidence suggest that humans heads served as a store
of value and medium of exchange in the southwest Pacific, particularly in areas
where human flesh was eaten.
An eleventh-century Arab text, ‘Aja’ib al-Hind, mentions that the
inhabitants of islands near Sumatra made use of human heads as a medium of
exchange. A fifteenth-century Venetian traveler, Nicolo de’ Conti, found human
heads serving as currency on Sumatra. He observed that “In one part of the
island called Battrech [Batak] the inhabitants eat human flesh. They keep human
heads as valuable property, store up the skull and use it as money. When they
desire to purchase any article, give one or more heads in exchange for it
according to its value” (Williams, 1997). The practice of using human heads
apparently survived for several centuries on Batak. In the nineteenth century
white traders on Batak were accused of capturing people, severing their heads,
and using their skulls as money to pay for sandalwood.
Borneo is also a place where human heads allegedly served as currency. The
evidence is a bit soft, but on occasion the headhunters on Borneo were known to
hold out their trophies when the white traders’ goods reached a certain level of
temptation.
Human head currency belongs on the fringe of monetary history. Like gold,
silver, and copper, human heads were adaptable to ornamental purposes. Ornaments
are usually adapted to be carried without tying up hands and pockets, and can
serve a dual purpose if the ornaments are acceptable as a medium of exchange.
The evolution of articles that serve a dual role as money and ornaments
expresses the need to economize on the expenditure of time, energy, and
resources.
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