The Oldest Loan Agreement Ever Discovered: Debt On Clay

When we think of loans, we imagine modern banks, apps, or ATMs. But loans are much older than we think. In fact, the oldest loan ever recorded goes back over 4,000 years ago. And the story is surprisingly human—it shows that even in ancient times, people borrowed, owed, and worried about repayment.

The world’s oldest known loan was not written on paper. It was carved into a clay tablet in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), around 2000 BC. The people of Mesopotamia used cuneiform writing, pressing symbols into wet clay, which hardened into records.

One of those tablets contains a loan agreement. It shows that a farmer borrowed grain from a wealthy merchant. Instead of money, people used food, silver, or animals as currency. The tablet clearly states how much grain was borrowed and when it had to be repaid—often after the harvest.

Many people think interest is a modern invention. But the clay tablets prove otherwise. Ancient loans often carried interest in the form of extra grain or animals. For example, if you borrowed 100 baskets of grain, you might have to return 120 baskets later.

This system was both practical and dangerous. If the harvest was good, repayment was easy. But if the harvest failed, the farmer could not repay. And just like today, that led to stress, family struggles, and sometimes even loss of freedom.

Interestingly, loans in ancient Mesopotamia were not always seen as negative. They were also a way of building relationships. Wealthy merchants lent to farmers, farmers repaid, and trust grew. It was a social contract as much as an economic one.

But it also created inequality. Those who controlled loans controlled society. In fact, some kings had to declare “debt forgiveness” from time to time to stop citizens from being trapped in endless loans.

The fact that the oldest loan ever recorded was about food tells us something powerful: people have always borrowed not just for luxury, but for survival. And thousands of years later, not much has changed. People still borrow for school fees, rent, food, and family emergencies.

The clay tablet in Mesopotamia is a reminder that borrowing is as old as civilization itself. Debt has always been part of the human story—shaping economies, families, and even empires.

So, the next time you think of a loan, remember: you are part of a tradition that started over four millennia ago, carved into clay by someone who also hoped they could pay it back.