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Métricas y prestamistas

    Métricas con encanto, artefactos valiosos y prestamistas de primera. Hubo una época que todo era más fácil y a la vez más preciso y exacto. Ahora la vida se ha vuelto mas compleja y el prestamista mas retorcido. No utilizamos palos, utilizamos varas que nos venden al metro y cuando vuelves, nada es comparable. No podrás romperla ni decir que ya está zanjado porque cada muesca ha aumentado su valor por dos, por tres, por cuatro…

    Tally Stick

    Imagine going to the local store in Wittenberg, Germany, in the midsixteenth century and not having enough cash to pay for the pig you wanted to roast for dinner. You might have to borrow some money and, in order to record your debt, the person making the loan would use a tally stick like this one. The stick was notched in the presence of both the lender and the borrower and then split in two, so that each person retained half. According to Andreas Hille, the state archaeologist responsible for Wittenberg, the contours of the stick and the distinct split guaranteed that only these two particular halves could be fit back together—insurance against anyone trying to cheat by adding more notches. When the borrower was ready to repay his debt, the two halves were put back together. The stick was then thrown away or destroyed.

    Archaelogy Magazine. Artefacts. Vol. 64 N. 6, noviembre/diciembre 2011