[imtringued]

Yeah this is true, people didn't necessarily "barter" back in the day. Traders and merchants probably did because they wanted immediate payment, but within a trustworthy community you simply record or memorize what you did and demand the other side to pay you back in the future.

An oversimplified hunter and gatherer society would just let the hunters give meat to the gatherers, assuming that they will one day be paid back with gathered vegetables or fruit.