Which trade is older masonry or prostitution?

Question

Which trade is older masonry or prostitution?

Answer 1

While I agree with most of what Cister said, I don't buy the "masonry started in the middle ages" comment. Perhaps he was referring to the origins of "free masonry?"

I suppose it depends on what you mean by masonry. Consider the ancient Egyptian pyramids, and other ancient temples and structures from  many other people: Hebrews, South American Indians, Chinese, etc. Couldn't these stone structures be considered works of masonry? I'd say they are, and others do as well.

But, if I had to guess, I'd say prostitution is older, or it's impossible to say. Perhaps the first prostitute was selling herself for a cup of barley in one part of early civilization, while simultaneously someone else saw a bunch of stone, and thought, hey, let's cut it, stick it together and build!

For instance, it only takes the bible 37 chapters to get to the first description of prostitution (Genesis 38), so what does that tell you?

Answer 2

One is a trade that adds value

One is a character vacuum that brings tragedy - it exists in many, many forms in modern life - whenever one is willing to "sell out" in return for something else that leads to temporal satisfaction.

Answer 3

Prostitution comes from ancient times and in some primitive societies.

Masonry started in the Middle Ages.

Hunting and gathering, perhaps followed by subsistence farming are the oldest. But prostitution  has been found in nearly every civilization on Earth stretching back throughout all recorded human history. We can say with some confidence that wherever there have been money, goods, or services to be bartered, somebody has bartered them for s*x.

Answer 4

Prostitution.

Answer 5

I dont know, but let me know when you find out :]

Answer 6

People started building houses of stone in the neolithic period, so I would say masonry.  I doubt prostitution existed much before the development of cities, which leads to a class of people with money who can afford to pay for luxuries, including s*x.

Before the development of cities, most women, like most men, would be engaged in agricultural labour, and would be growing the barley rather than trading s*x for it (as a comment above suggests).  Farming is often done by women in primitive societies.  

Prior to agriculture, women in hunter-gatherer societies would be doing the gathering, they would be finding food rather than trading s*x for it.

Answer 7

Flint napping is older than both. In those days there was no masonry as stone construction hadn't been developed, and there was no prostitution because men just took what they wanted.

Answer 8

Good question.. Both seem to go back a long way.. Prostitution is mentioned severeal times in the Bible. But people also had to use masonry to build houses and buildings and stuff.. I think I would say masonry.