Answer each of the following questions in two or three sentences:

What are the craft guilds ?

When the evolution of economy and commerce reached the handicraft stage, it was characterized by the emergence of a group of people who were skilled in production other than those related to agriculture. The farmer's needed tools and houses which was supplied by these people who made tools, built houses etc. this group included professional craftsmen such as carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers, builders. They banded together to form crafts guilds. Their emergence led to the formation of the barter system of exchange.