The Stone Money of Yap

Record summary

Early twentieth-century accounts of Yap’s stone money, or rai, documented quarrying in Palau, transport traditions, ownership, and ceremonial exchange. The system was sometimes presented in exoticizing terms as evidence of an inexplicable or supposedly primitive economy, while closer study shows a socially administered form of value whose histories include named individuals and transactions. This is a useful Pacific comparison lead for distinguishing unusual material practices from claims of lost technology or paranormal knowledge. Researchers should identify the specific ethnography, informant, and island context because accounts vary considerably.