world oldest profession

[lechat]

got to thinking today that it's prolly not prostitution so what is it?
my guess would be tool maker. i figure it couldn't be long before someone figured they were pretty good at making spears and decided to set up shop charge a few berries to provide the community with his services.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I think leadership is the oldest profession. The biggest, smartest, toughest hunter takes over a tribe. Now he has a job in leading that tribe. You know, deciding who to make war with, how the tribe is run, etc.

I could be wrong, tired or both but I'm going with that.

 

[Caiphus]

I don't understand. Why wouldn't it be prostitution?
Male monkey has bananas. Female monkey gets bananas for sex. Prehistoric prostitution.

Woefully inadequate explanations of ancient history now on sale. Get them quick.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Teacher. Whatever has to be professed must first be passed on, and only a teacher can do that. But that raises the question of whether someone who teaches is necessarily a teacher. What one does is not always one's profession.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

My guess is hunter or forager. It's probably a safe bet that food was always a priority, we were doing it before we were us.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I've always thought hunter gatherer, but that's just me.

 

[Da Orky Man]

I don't understand. Why wouldn't it be prostitution?
Male monkey has bananas. Female monkey gets bananas for sex. Prehistoric prostitution.

Woefully inadequate explanations of ancient history now on sale. Get them quick.

Yeah, but since the male monkey needs to have bananas to trade, then the oldest profession is banana gatherer.

 

[Stasisesque]

Profession means something you are paid for, hence prostitution being the world's oldest. In that regard, I don't doubt it. It's been observed in the animal kingdom that primates will trade sexual favours for food, shelter or protection. It's obvious in our society that that still happens, so I'd say it's at least possible both we and our primate cousins learned it from our ancestors.

I can't agree that hunter-gatherer was the oldest profession, as they typically hunter-gathered for themselves or their tribe, they weren't being paid to go out and get food. Food was the payment.

 

[Caiphus]

Yeah, but since the male monkey needs to have bananas to trade, then the oldest profession is banana gatherer.

Is that a profession if no other monkey was paying the first monkey?
Probably is.

Interesting thought experiment.

However! Chicken-egg thought here. If the monkeys existed, they would have had to have been born. So the first profession was midwife!? No? No...

...

 

[Scarim Coral]

I would of thought it was Blacksmith but I guessing it isn't that.

 

[Evil Smurf]

computer technician, because time travel.

 

[Perryman93]

Prostitution has been observed in every culture, human or animal no matter how advanced or primitive, so id say its probably the oldest form of profession.
Well at least every culture with a concept of currency or food to exchange for the service.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

computer technician, because time travel.

This is the best answer so far. I would also add mechanical engineer, because more time travel.

 

[Abomination]

There can not be one single "oldest" profession because in order for one to make use of a profession there must be another in which to trade with.

The moment someone engaged in prostitution someone else must have engaged in another profession - likely hunting/gathering/body-guarding/prospecting (for shelter) - to barter for the prostitution services in some way. That being said prostitution, would have been the first service 'offer' in exchange for food/protection/shelter and upon accepting the other profession would have started to exist.

So I guess it would be the 'first' profession but another profession would have followed immediately after.

 

[Sindwiller]

I'd say trading. But I might be wrong.

EDIT:

There can not be one single "oldest" profession because in order for one to make use of a profession there must be another in which to trade with.

The moment someone engaged in prostitution someone else must have engaged in another profession - likely hunting/gathering/body-guarding/prospecting (for shelter) - to barter for the prostitution services in some way. That being said prostitution, would have been the first service 'offer' in exchange for food/protection/shelter and upon accepting the other profession would have started to exist.

So I guess it would be the 'first' profession but another profession would have followed immediately after.

Impenetrable logic. Thread closed.

 

[King of Asgaard]

There can not be one single "oldest" profession because in order for one to make use of a profession there must be another in which to trade with.

The moment someone engaged in prostitution someone else must have engaged in another profession - likely hunting/gathering/body-guarding/prospecting (for shelter) - to barter for the prostitution services in some way. That being said prostitution, would have been the first service 'offer' in exchange for food/protection/shelter and upon accepting the other profession would have started to exist.

So I guess it would be the 'first' profession but another profession would have followed immediately after.

Agreed entirely, it's nice to see a logical answer to this nigh on unanswerable question.

 

[Best of the 3]

I'll just through out historian since that would be rather cool. I'm counting drawings on walls as historian accounts

 

[averydeeadaccount]

There can not be one single "oldest" profession because in order for one to make use of a profession there must be another in which to trade with.

The moment someone engaged in prostitution someone else must have engaged in another profession - likely hunting/gathering/body-guarding/prospecting (for shelter) - to barter for the prostitution services in some way. That being said prostitution, would have been the first service 'offer' in exchange for food/protection/shelter and upon accepting the other profession would have started to exist.

So I guess it would be the 'first' profession but another profession would have followed immediately after.

Prostitution is only 12 seconds older then soliciting.
As others said banana gatherer doesn't count, because they aren't paid to gather bananas. therefore, because most primate teachers aren't paid for their services, and neither are leaders, they wouldn't count either. the only monkey role I can think of in which other monkeys would provide them with food for their services would be soldier, and even then they probably gather their own food. would mugger count as a profession? because its probably also prehistoric.

The correct answer: Deity. Since animals have been capable of thought, they have been leaving offerings to the gods in exchange for good fortune.