Developed in antiquity—in places unknown—to guarantee the truthfulness of the speaker's words, the taking of oaths is now a universal custom. The need for oaths arose as human society became more complex. Business depended on the viability of promises, and jurisprudence depended on testimony that was true. In time, every political, commercial and jurisprudential body required an effective means to assure its decisions and judgments were based on genuine, truthful evidence.