Throughout history, people have coveted certain things that became significant in shaping the world they lived in. One of the first was the possession of land and the natural resources on it such as: timber, animals, spices, grains, salt, sugar, fresh water, and slaves. The resources were also in the land, such as rare and useful minerals and sources of fossil fuels. People also created things of significant value:
weapons, knowledge, and technologies that vastly improved transportation, communications, and information. Today, advanced microchips and algorithms are more coveted than gold. The pursuit of valuable things has driven people to lie, steal, kill, trade, compete,cooperate, and sometimes to create alternatives. Pick a vital commodity and tell us how people used it to shape their world.
