Answer:
The most common commodity that gold was used to purchase was salt, a mineral that was always in great demand in order to better preserve dried meat and to give added taste to food.
Salt is not abundant in all the places on Earth. Where salt is not easily obtained, it becomes very valuable.
Some African cultures began to rely on a diet of grain, vegetables, and boiled meats, where before, they relied on hunting and roasting meat.
So salt became a necessity to maintain life. Plants have no salt at all and while meat has some, boiling it leaches most of it into the cooking water.
In the forests of West Africa, salt was very scarce so they had to trade for it and it literally was more valuable than gold. You could not live on gold.
Step-by-step explanation: