Going all the way back to ancient Sumeria, branding is how merchant houses distinguished their wares and allowed them to start trading goods beyond the local marketplace.
From the city states of Sumeria, Classical Greece, and Renaissance Italy, to the Dutch Republic, lands with decentralized governance have fostered great gains in science, industry and arts.
Early balance scales--first seen in Sumeria about 9, 000 years ago--consisted of two weighing pans attached to either end of a beam, which sat delicately balanced on a central pivot.