Gold appears to have been first used in Nubia near 4200 BC I think. The word "Nubia" itself I think is derived from an Egyptian word "Nuba" meaning "gold" - gold being so plentiful there is was found laying on the surface of the ground. Certainly gold was most prominently used in Egypt in portraying its gods and glorifying its temples in worship to them.
Gold was used at a very early time in Mesopotamia as well and it seems it was the literati of a single people who became two (in the beginning was the literati and they split to become the Egyptians and Mesopotamians) who account for the use of gold in both places.
Gold was taken from its religious use and came to represent currency and the gold standard in the West. Gold makes the world go round. But, it is Africa's gift to the world of art, jewelry, and the World Monetary System.
Pictures 1, 2, and 3 contain material directly relating to Egypt. From Egypt (and Mesopotamia) gold used in figurine and later coins travelled around the ancient world before the time of Christ:
Does anyone have any online images of figurine from the Sudan / Kush / Nubia or Egypt predating the 18th Dynasty? Especially such images of African Hyksos?
Also, if my comments are wrong, please let me know. I want to know what's true about this subject and era where the world's first use of gold is concerned in its relation to Africans.
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