Gift history: how it all began

Present. Not a single word evokes so many positive emotions in a person. Still would! Indeed, by definition, a gift is a thing presented free of charge, with the aim of giving pleasure. And who doesn’t want to have fun, and even “free of charge”? There are simply no such people.

When did the tradition of giving gifts begin? Who, when, whom, and on what occasion "made happy" for the first time?

With someone's light hand, the statement walks through the "gift" sites - the very first gifts in the history of mankind were presented by the Magi to the baby Jesus Christ. This statement is wrong! That is, there were wise men and there were also holy gifts, only this event happened a little more than 2000 years ago. And the history of the gift has more than 200,000 years. As much as the history of homo sapiens.

You ask - well, what kind of gifts could there be then? Savages lived in caves, walked in wrapped skins. The main task is to get food and not become the prey of a saber-toothed tiger, or some other predator. No New Year for you, no March 8th. And what to give? Even overwhelmed souvenirs have not yet been stamped. The question is reasonable, however, scientists are unanimous in their opinion - the act of giving appeared in this world along with the first reasonable people and played an incredibly important role in their difficult life.

In the hard-to-reach caves of Africa - the ancestral home of mankind, in southern Europe, in America and the Middle East, many rock paintings made tens of thousands of years ago have been preserved. Most often, ancient artists depicted a successful hunt for wild animals. One of the versions of scientists - the drawings were designed to "pull" good luck. Another version - the image of the beast, muzzled by daring hunters, was intended as a gift to unknown formidable forces. To appease them, primitive artists created these masterpieces.

Later, in every self-respecting tribe, their idols appeared - totems. It was possible to achieve their location only with the help of gifts. For the most part, the "gods" were not particularly whimsical. Everything was suitable as an offering - fruits, cereals, flowers. True, there were also bloodthirsty ones. Animals, captured enemies, and sometimes delinquent members of the community were brought to them as a gift. The sacrificial ritual was strictly regulated, the encroachment on the gifts was considered an unthinkable sacrilege and was punished by cruel death. According to historians, it was the magical ritual of sacrifice that formed the basis of the sweet tradition of giving gifts.

Gradually, donation began to lose its purely ritual character - it became common to exchange gifts with neighboring tribes. Of course, on a mutually beneficial basis. Hunters donated meat and skins of killed animals, in return they received honey, roots and herbs from the "gatherers".

In addition to the undoubted material benefit, this custom also had a symbolic meaning - the one who brings gifts is not going to kill. Probably, in that unimaginably distant era, a powerful positive message was formed - one who brings gifts cannot be an enemy. The history of the gift, to tell the truth, knows several unfortunate cases that refute this message. But what to do - there are no rules without exceptions!

Several sensational archaeological finds have lifted the veil of secrecy over yet another, so to speak, romantic side of the life of prehistoric people. Relatively recently, while exploring a South African cave, archaeologists discovered forty carefully sized shells with carefully drilled holes. The shells show signs of wear. "Beads", whose age was determined to be 75 thousand (!) years, adorned the neck of a charming savage for a long time. The young lady, of course, could not buy such beauty (there was no money yet), therefore, it was a gift. Maybe even a loved one. It appears that not only idols and neighbors rejoiced at gifts in the Stone Age.

This is how, or something like this, according to modern researchers, the history of the gift began - a wonderful custom, without which our life would have lost one of its most important and, undoubtedly, its most pleasant sides.