Is prostitution really the oldest profession? If not, what is?

If you define profession as "exchange of money for services" -- then the banking profession would have to pre-exist prostitution, since bankers invented money. If you consider the more general "barter for services", then, according to wikipedia "midwifery" probably pre-exists prostitution as a service, as would some other medical services. In ancient times, some sexual practices were performed in temples. By present day values these would be considered prostitution. Temples have religious leaders, so religious leaders must have existed before temple prostitutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution

re: Wikipedia source
> wikipedia is a public source...anyone can submit an article

This does not make Wikipedia a less reliable source than a private source. The public source is edited by volunteers, a private source is edited for it's revenue base.

hunter gatherer

It could be , but you would have to include religion as a possibility. Someone way back used tall tales to keep the ignorant masses controlled. Religion has continued and expanded it's control over larger and larger populations. You might by this point have millions upon millions of prostitutes , but the million and millions of religious workers have an entire planet of gullable customers at their disposal now. The usual male dominated religious groups are truly the biggest flim flam from day one and the mastery of their deceptions and powers to brainwash an entire planet has to be considered the oldest and biggest business or scam of all time.

In the Christian Bible, even the farming profession preceded prostitution.

Sex surrogacy

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/2637533/Sexual-healer-has-slept-with-1500-men.html

THe oldest profession would have to be midwifery. Before any person could be born the midwife would have to deliver said child. I do not understand how anyone could think that prostitution would be the oldest profession. Even if you do not believe in adam and eve then whoever was here first would have to have a child first and that would leave someone to deliver the baby, making midwifery the oldest profession.

the oldest profession has to do with buying, selling, and trading food.

I think stay at home mom was the first!

Violet is closest to the nail's head I think. Let's assume that no professions existed before "civilized humans" came into play around 9500 BCE (I mean c'mon don't act you don't dismiss the previous 150,000 years+ of homo sapien existence as irrelevant. that's why you still use the word pre-historic)... Human civilization (do not mistake for human existence) was born from our agricultural revolution. From the newfound ability not just to grow and hunt food, but to create surpluses of food. This is where the first professions come in to play. The people who lock up the food. the people who guard the locked up food and the people who distribute (and eventually learn to sell) food surpluses. This then branches out to the the creation of the first state officials. People who decided who get's food distributed to them. Then the lawmakers who provide concrete rules (or monkey dances as I call them) that people must follow in order to receive food.

Essentially understand that Profession is a biased term. Humans were providing services for each other since Homo Habilis however because some kind of profit wasn't involved we think it doesn't count.

I mean... San Dimas High Football Rules!!!!